BBC to kick off two-part MasterChef Christmas special

The BBC has announced a two-part MasterChef Christmas special. 

Restaurant critic and broadcaster Grace Dent will host both episodes. She has co-hosted the show with Anna Haugh since 2025. 

In the first episode, five celebrity chefs will go head-to-head in a festive showdown. They will compete for the Golden Whisk. The line-up is Italian chef Aldo Zilli, Irish TV chef Rachel Allen, and British-Iranian presenter and author Sabrina Ghayour. Social media food star Seema Pankhania and Scottish chef and restaurateur Tony Singh are also taking part.

The second episode brings back some of the country’s top restaurant critics for a rematch. Current critics’ champion Jay Rayner will return. He will face Jimi Famurewa, Leyla Kazim, Tom Parker Bowles and William Sitwell.

Dent said last year that she was “over the moon” to be back in the MasterChef kitchen. She said she loves finding out what skills people have been cooking up behind closed doors.