Who is Shazia Mirza? Celebrity MasterChef 2023 contestant and comedian
Will comedy star Shazia bring the laughs to the MasterChef kitchen?
Back on our screens for its 18th season, the new season of Celebrity MasterChef promises impressive culinary feats and outright cooking catastrophes in equal measure.
A new line-up of celebrity contestants will be putting their gastronomic skills to the test in a bid to pique the taste buds of judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace - and, as usual, some of them will have more experience in the kitchen than others.
Among the stars taking part this year is comedian Shazia Mirza.
"I'd always thought about doing it, but it looked so scary," she admitted ahead of her appearance on the show. "Now I say, just do it!"
From her unexpected previous career to her stints on other reality shows, here's what you need to know about Shazia.
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Who is Shazia Mirza?
Job: Comedian
Instagram: @theshaziamirza
Twitter: @shaziamirza1
Before making a move into the world of comedy, Shazia Mirza was a science teacher at Langdon Park School in east London, where she happened to teach a young Dizzee Rascal (or Dylan Mills, as he was better known then).
She has toured successful comedy shows like The Kardashians Made Me Do It, With Love From St Tropez and her most recent production, Coconut, which was nominated for best stand-up tour at Channel 4’s National Comedy Awards.
Shazia has also previously taken part in survival shows like Celebrity The Island with Bear Grylls and Channel 5’s Celebs in Solitary.
You might think that surely Celebrity MasterChef would seem like a cakewalk in comparison, but Shazia admits that she still got "very nervous" when the time came to enter the famous kitchen.
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"I prepared for MasterChef by burning two kitchens down," she admitted. "I burnt down the home economics room at school once and my mum’s kitchen once. But I’ve learned my lesson, I know not to leave the oven on when there’s nothing in there!" Phew.
When is Celebrity MasterChef 2023 on TV?
The second week of Celebrity MasterChef is set to begin on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 9pm on Wednesday 9th August, with further heats then airing on Thursday and Friday.
Shazia will be going up against BBC Radio 1Xtra's Remi Burgz and former children's TV host Dave Benson Phillips (who'll be best known to viewers of a certain age as the presenter of Get Your Own Back), as well as The Wanted star Max George and comedian Terry Christian.
Celebrity MasterChef 2023 airs on Wednesdays on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 9pm.
To find out what else is on TV, check out our TV Guide or visit our hub for more Entertainment news.
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