Celebrity MasterChef 2021 line-up: Meet the finalists
Only a few remain...
It feels like the show has only just started but we are already at the final of Celebrity MasterChef 2021 and only three famous faces remain from the original group of 20 celebs.
Tonight, Friday 17th September, we'll finally see who out of Megan McKenna, Joe Swash and Kadeena Cox will win.
We have said our goodbyes to many stars during the 2021 series including Katie Price, Will Kirk, Duncan James and comedian Munya Chawawa who had the misfortune of going out first but now it is up to the remaining contestants to fight for the title of Celebrity MasterChef 2021 winner, joining last year's winner Riyadh Khalaf.
But who will have what it takes to get to win the show, and who will crumble at the last hurdle?
Here's everything you need to know about the Celebrity MasterChef 2021 contestants, including the three remaining finalists, and all the other stars who took part in the BBC One cooking show this year.
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Celebrity MasterChef 2021 finalists
Megan McKenna
Age: 28
Job: Reality TV star and singer
Instagram: @meganmckenna
Megan McKenna is a reality TV star and singer. She's probably best known for appearing on Ex on The Beach and The Only Way is Essex in 2015 and 2016 respectively. She also took part in the Celebrity X Factor in 2019, which she won. Her debut album Story of Me (released before X Factor) reached number four on the UK Country Chart.
Joe Swash
Age: 39
Job: Actor and TV presenter
Instagram: @realjoeswashy
Joe Swash is a presenter and actor. He rose to fame as Mickey Miller on EastEnders, which he starred in until 2008. Since then he's had various presenting roles with ITV2. And when it comes to winning reality shows, the other contestants might want to watch out - he won the eighth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2008 and the twelfth series of Dancing on Ice in 2020. Could MasterChef see him land a hat-trick?
Joe is engaged to Loose Women star Stacey Solomon.
Kadeena Cox
Age: 30
Job: Paralympian
Instagram: @kad21
Kadeena Cox is a British parasport athlete competing in T38 sprints and C4 para-cycling events. She was part of the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships and the 2016 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships, in which she won world titles in the T37 100m and C4 500m time trial.
Celebrity MasterChef 2021 eliminated contestants
Dion Dublin
Age: 51
Job: Television presenter and former footballer
Instagram: @diondublin09
Dion Dublin is a television presenter and former footballer, who many will recognise from presenting the BBC's popular show, Homes Under the Hammer.
Dublin started out as footballer, playing for Norwich City and Cambridge United, where he made his name as a centre-forward. He has also played at other clubs, inlcuding Manchester United, Coventry City, Millwall, Aston Villa, Leicester City and Celtic before returning back to Norwich to end his career.
In 2015, he joined the BBC show alongside Martin Roberts and Lucy Alexander who later stepped down.
Kem Cetinay
Age: 24
Job: Reality TV star and presenter
Instagram: @kemcetinay
Kem Cetinay is a reality TV star and presenter who is best known for appearing on the 2017 series of Love Island, which he won alongside then-girlfriend Amber Davies. Since then, has gone on to front other shows including multiple formats with fellow islander Chris Hughes.
In 2018, Kem took part on Dancing on Ice, and finished in fourth place with his professional skating partner Alex Murphy.
Melanie Sykes - Eliminated
Age: 50
Job: Television presenter
Instagram: @msmelaniesykes
Melanie Sykes is a television and radio presenter, and model. She has hosted shows including Today with Des and Mel with Des O'Connor, Let's Do Lunch with Gino D'Acampo and series three of The Great Pottery Throw Down.
She regularly teams up with Alan Carr to present shows on BBC Radio 2.
Su Pollard - Eliminated
Age: 71
Job: Actress, singer, author and songwriter
Instagram: @officialsupollard
Su Pollard is an actress, singer, author and songwriter, who has a career spanning over four decades. Let's face it, she's a showbiz legend! She is perhaps most known for her role in the BAFTA-winning Perry & Croft sitcom Hi-de-Hi! but also appeared in You Rang, M'Lord? and Oh, Doctor Beeching!
Bez - Eliminated
Age: 56
Job: Musician
Instagram: @bezmondays
Bez (real name Mark Berry) is a percussionist, dancer and DJ. He is well known for being part of the rock bands Happy Mondays and Black Grape.
Johannes Radebe - Eliminated
Age: 33
Job: Dancer
Instagram: @johannesradebe
Strictly Come Dancing's Johannes Radebe will be temporarily swapping the ballroom for the kitchen. Radebe is a South African professional dancer and choreographer, who joined the BBC dance show in 2018, and was given his first celebrity partner one year later, dancing with actress Catherine Tyldesley. Last year, he was partnered with actress Caroline Quentin, with whom he finished in eighth place.
Gavin Esler - Eliminated
Age: 68
Job: Journalist, author and presenter
Gavin Esler is a Scottish journalist, television presenter and author. From 2003 to 2014, he presented BBC Two's flagship political analysis programme, Newsnight, taking over from Jeremy Vine. He also hosted BBC News at Five on the BBC News Channel.
Since 2014 he has served as the Chancellor of the University of Kent.
Michelle Collins - Eliminated
Age: 59
Job: Actress
Instagram: @michelledcollins
Michelle Collins is an actress who has starred in many TV shows over the years. Loyal EastEnders fans will remember her for playing Cindy Beale on the soap from 1988 to 1998. She then moved over to ITV's Coronation Street, where she landed the role of Stella Price from 2011 to 2014. Her other well known roles include Real Women, Sunburn and Two Thousand Acres of Sky.
Katie Price - Eliminated
Age: 42
Job: Glamour model, TV personality and businesswoman
Instagram: @katieprice
Popular TV personality Katie Price will be trying out her cooking skills on Celebrity MasterChef this year. She initially gained recognition back in 1996 during her days as a glamour model when she went by the pseudonym Jordan. Nowadays, she has multiple business projects, including several autobiographies and novels.
She's no stranger to reality TV either, appearing on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2004 where she met her first husband and father to two of her children, Peter Andre. More recently, she has released BBC documentary Katie Price: Harvey and Me, alongside her 18-year-old son Harvey Price.
Melissa Johns - Eliminated
Age: 31
Job: Actress
Instagram: @melissa_johns_1
Melissa Johns is a British actress. She's best known for playing Hannah Taylor in Mike Bartlett’s BBC One mini series Life and Imogen Pascoe in Coronation Street.
Duncan James - Eliminated
Age: 43
Job: Singer and actor
Instagram: @mrduncanjames
Duncan James is best known for being 1/4 of British boyband Blue, which he formed in 2001 with Lee Ryan, Antony Costa and Simon Webbe. In 2016, the 43-year-old joined the cast of Hollyoaks as policeman Ryan Knight. He recently appeared on The Celebrity Circle, playing as himself on the social media game show.
Nabil Abdulrashid - Eliminated
Age: 35
Job: Comedian
Instagram: @manlikenabz
Nabil Abdulrashid (full name, Mohamed Nasir Nabil Abdul Rashid bin Suleman Obineche) is an English comedian of Nigerian descent. He became the youngest Black comedian to perform stand up at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2010, when he was just 25-years-old.
In 2020, Nabil appeared on the 14th series of Britain's Got Talent and became Alesha Dixon's Golden Buzzer act. He managed to make it to the finals of the ITV show.
Munya Chawawa - Eliminated
Age: 28
Job: Comedian and content creator
Instagram: @munyachawawa
Munya Chawawa is another comedian stepping up to the plate on MasterChef 2021. The British-Zimbabwean comic has a huge following on social media, with over 672k followers, and is known for his funny sketches and parody videos, including made-up characters such as Unknown P – a posh drill rapper.
Rita Simons - Eliminated
Age: 44
Job: Actress
Instagram: @rita_simonsofficial
Best known for playing Roxy Mitchell on EastEnders from 2007 to 2017, Rita Simons is a British actress. She left the soap when Roxy was killed off alongside sister Ronnie (played by Samantha Womack). Simons is also best pals with fellow contestant Duncan James, but will they get competitive when they step into the kitchen?
Penny Lancaster - Eliminated
Age: 50
Job: Model
Instagram: @penny.lancaster
Penny Lancaster is an English model and photographer. She is married to rock singer Sir Rod Stewart and many daytime TV fans will recognise her from ITV's Loose Women, which she joined in 2014.
Patrick Grant - Eliminated
Age: 48
Job: Fashion designer
Instagram: @patrickgrantism
Patrick Grant is a fashion designer and businessman, who is best known for being a judge on the BBC's Great British Sewing Bee. But now it's his turn to be judged!
He is also the director of bespoke tailors Norton & Sons of Savile Row, clothing lines E. Tautz & Sons and Community Clothing, and textile manufacturer Cookson & Clegg.
- For the latest news and expert tips on getting the best deals this year, take a look at our Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 guides.
Will Kirk - Eliminated
Job: Antique furniture restorer
Instagram: @williamkirkrestoration
Will Kirk is a British furniture restorer, known mainly for his work on the BBC's restoration programme The Repair Shop, which he started appearing on in 2017.
Kirk graduated in 2010, and launched his own London-based furniture restoration company in 2012.
Celebrity MasterChef 2021 is on BBC One. To find out what else is on TV, check out our TV Guide or visit our hub for more Entertainment news.
