Grace Dent is to be a judge for the next series of Celebrity MasterChef alongside John Torode on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Award-winning restaurant critic, Grace, has been a regular guest on MasterChef for over a decade, as well as competing as a contestant on last year’s MasterChef: Battle of the Critics 2023.
Grace is a best-selling author and chart-topping podcaster, with a career in journalism spanning the past 15 years, as well as regularly appearing in food-centred TV and radio shows over the past decade.
As she prepares to judge the upcoming 20th series of Celebrity MasterChef with John, Grace says: “I’ve been watching MasterChef since I was a girl sitting with my dad on the sofa. My whole family watches it. It’s all about uncovering and championing talent and to have ended up in this position, is more than a dream to me. I’m so excited that I can’t eat, which is severely detrimental to a restaurant critic. I feel very lucky to be stepping in for the next Celebrity MasterChef. I can’t wait to meet the fresh celebrity faces for 2025.”
John Torode says: “I have loved working with Grace on MasterChef over the years. She has been an excellent guest, an inspiring critic and also set some incredible challenges. Expertise is what MasterChef is all about, from the contestants to our wonderful production team, to us as judges. The love of food, the love of MasterChef, and that unquestionable expertise, makes Grace the perfect person to step in alongside me as judge for the forthcoming Celebrity MasterChef series.”
MasterChef Executive Editor, David Ambler, says: “Grace’s expertise, wit and finely honed palette will be great asset to the judging lineup and the celebrities will need to be sitting up straight for this series. We’re looking forward to welcoming Grace back in 2025 as we uncover a new Celebrity MasterChef champion.”
Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment at the BBC says: “Grace Dent is the perfect choice to step in for the next series of Celebrity MasterChef. Grace is not only an energetic and well-established member of the MasterChef team, but is also a world renowned food critic, so she will certainly keep the next batch of celebrities on their toes.”
Grace writes an award-winning restaurant review column for The Guardian, and has hosted nine seasons of celebrity food podcast Comfort Eating. She previously wrote about food for the Evening Standard and is a best-selling author of over 20 books – including her memoir, Hungry, Comfort Eating and the ‘Diary Of’ series. Grace has also fronted a range of programmes across TV and radio – from hosting on BBC Radio 2 on Christmas Day and throughout the Christmas period, to presenting BBC Radio 4 series The Untold and BBC Four’s What We Were Watching.
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