An Olympic hero, a state premier and one of Australia's most
irreverent fashion designers will be among the 18 contestants in
the first
Celebrity MasterChef.
Olympic swimmer and world record breaker Eamon Sullivan,
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh and leading Australian fashion
designer Alex Perry are among the first seven of 18 celebrities to
be named by Network Ten.
Journalist and broadcaster Peter Fitzsimons,
The Biggest
Loser trainer and fitness expert Michelle Bridges, news
anchor, journalist and activist Indira Naidoo and founding member
of children's group Hi-5, Kathleen de Leon, are the other
contestants announced yesterday.
The remaining 11 celebrity contestants will be revealed over the
coming week, Network Ten said in a statement.
Split into groups of three, each celebrity will compete in one
heat, facing two classic MasterChef challenges.
Only one celebrity in each heat will win through to the
semi-final.
The six who make it will face further culinary challenges to try
to impress the judges and secure a spot in the
Celebrity
MasterChef grand finale.
Returning to preside over
Celebrity MasterChef is
judging trio Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston.
"We've got a line-up of celebrities that is both inspiring and
intriguing. They're all competent cooks in their own kitchen but
George, Gary and I are looking forward to seeing whether they're up
to scratch in ours," Preston said.
The new series follows the hugely popular
MasterChef
Australia.
Celebrity MasterChef, produced by FremantleMedia
Australia, will debut on Wednesday, September 30.
- As reported by The Age