MasterChef is getting festive this Christmas, with the BBC announcing two special episodes featuring some familiar faces from the world of food. Celebrity chefs and restaurant critics will be swapping their usual roles to compete in the famous MasterChef kitchen, with Grace Dent and Giorgio Locatelli returning to judge their culinary creations.

The two-part Christmas special will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, with ten contestants taking part across two separate competitions. The first episode will see five celebrity chefs battling for the Golden Whisk, before five well-known restaurant critics take their turn behind the stove in a bid to win the Critics’ Trophy.

Which Celebrity Chefs Are Taking Part in the MasterChef Christmas Special?

The first festive episode will see five professional chefs competing against one another in the MasterChef kitchen, putting their years of culinary experience to the test. Taking part are Italian chef Aldo Zilli, Irish television chef and cookery school teacher Rachel Allen, British-Iranian chef and bestselling author Sabrina Ghayour, social media food creator Seema Pankhania, and Scottish chef and restaurateur Tony Singh.

Despite their experience in professional kitchens, the chefs won’t be getting an easy ride. They’ll face classic MasterChef challenges, beginning with a task that sees them turning Christmas leftovers into something special. They’ll then be asked to prepare a main course and pudding that showcases their individual cooking styles, with Grace and Giorgio deciding who deserves to take home the Golden Whisk.

With five chefs bringing different backgrounds and approaches to cooking, it’ll be interesting to see what they come up with, especially when they’re the ones being judged for a change.

Restaurant Critics Return for a Festive MasterChef Showdown

The second Christmas special will see five restaurant critics returning to the kitchen, where they’ll have to prove they can cook as well as they critique. Current critics’ champion Jay Rayner will be back to defend his title, facing competition from fellow food writers Jimi Famurewa, Leyla Kazim, Tom Parker Bowles and William Sitwell.

The critics are usually the ones tasting dishes, offering their opinions and deciding whether food meets their expectations, but this time they’ll be the ones facing the pressure of cooking for the judges. Across a series of festive challenges, they’ll have to prepare dishes worthy of praise from Grace Dent and Giorgio Locatelli, with the winner taking home the MasterChef Critics’ Trophy.

When Are the MasterChef Christmas Specials on BBC One?

The BBC has confirmed that both specials will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer over the Christmas period, although exact broadcast dates and times have yet to be announced.

For CultureCues, we do love a bit of MasterChef, and these Christmas specials sound like they’ll be a lot of fun. It’s always entertaining seeing professional chefs put under pressure, especially when they’re used to being the experts in the kitchen, so we’re looking forward to seeing how they get on with the challenges. The critics’ episode should be just as good, and it’ll be interesting to see whether Jay Rayner can hold on to his title. Throw in a few festive dishes, some Christmas leftovers and a little friendly competition, and we’ve got another show to add to our Christmas viewing list.

MasterChef’s two Christmas specials will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in December 2026, with broadcast dates still to be confirmed.