Episode 21 Celebrity MasterChef

16 celebrities have been battling it out

to win the coveted MasterChef crown.

You want to get to the final. No point being here otherwise.

These celebrities have reached the top of their profession.

But can they cut it in the kitchen?

Why do this if you don't think you've got it in you to push yourself to win?

To win MasterChef would be astronomical for me.

Cooking doesn't get tougher than this!

DRAMATIC MUSIC

After four weeks of intense competition,

we've reached the MasterChef semi-finals.

Eight exceptional cooks are back to fight for their place.

Celebrity MasterChef, and we are down to our final eight.

This is where it becomes exciting.

Our best eight celebrity cooks,

all in one kitchen together.

It feels amazing. I never thought I'd get this far.

Everyone seems to be in the same boat.

Everyone's shocked that they're here,

which is reassuring, because I certainly am.

I'd like nothing more than to win this competition.

I'd be so smug if I did!

Today they face just one challenge

to cook a show-stopping dish.

It's brutal. They live and die by one dish today.

Good to see you, our eight best cooks from the heats.

Now we want one dish from you,

one very good dish.

At the end of this,

two of you will be going home.

Your food today has to demonstrate skill, flavour,

absolute deliciousness.

One hour and 30 minutes...

Ladies and gentlemen,

let's cook.

The best eight cooks from all the heats, in this kitchen right now,

and they are fighting it out for their MasterChef lives.

This is where we really work out who's good enough to stay in the competition.

Linda Lusardi is a model and an actress, John. She's also a mum.

She cooks with love. She's a home cook.

You have cooked a really nice steak

and you have made a really, really good sauce.

It's about the combination of food, that's her issue.

-It's like a smoked fish porridge.

-I don't think many people would order that on the menu, would they?

No, they wouldn't!

Now she needs to be able to hone those skills

and make sure her food is not overcomplicated.

If you mess up today, you've messed up your dish

and your one chance to stay in the semi-finals.

I'm giving it 100 percent

and I really, really hope I get through.

-Linda!

-Yes?

-You seem really organised,

really on the ball, and for me that spells confidence.

This is the most nervous I've been since the first day.

It's like it's all new again, because there's all new people that I don't know.

What are you cooking for us?

I'm doing Malaysian beef and potato curry

with rice and a chapatti and cucumber raita.

Malaysian food! All the spices, all those techniques...

We've never seen you do this.

I'm a lover of hot curries, but my kids hate hot curries,

so it's meeting in the middle somewhere.

I've made it a bit hotter for you than I would for my children.

When I said I had one dish to show off with,

"What do you think I should do?" everyone said, "Your curry."

I'm really impressed that you're pushing yourself.

That means something, that means that you love this competition.

I do love it! And it's changed my cooking forever. It really has.

All those microwave dinners have gone out of my fridge. It's like a chef's fridge.

-You still don't believe you can win the competition, do you?

-No.

-Why?

I just don't think I know enough about cooking.

If you're good enough to make it to the last eight, you're good enough to win it.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

My big issue - a Malaysian curry takes a long time to cook down

and that meat should be falling apart.

I just hope it's not chewy.

She's talking about heat, not using enough heat, sometimes using lots of heat.

Get it hot, Linda!

You've had 30 minutes!

30 minutes have gone!

Phil Vickery is a World Cup-winner, John.

He's a big man. His food started off in this competition big, rustic.

Your food is Phil Vickery from start to end!

It is big! It is honest!

Phil's food has changed to some real refined beauty.

It's just a lovely dish. Lovely, lovely flavours.

You are developing a brilliant eye.

Phil doesn't think he knows a lot about food,

but I can tell you, I think he does.

I'm pushing myself today. I'm entering into areas of cooking

which I would never have dreamed I would've done.

I want to be stood here, John and Gregg,

"And the winner is..." That's my dream, that's my goal,

and nothing else is kind of acceptable, so...

What style from Phil today? Big and rustic or small and dainty?

Rustic with process, hopefully. Nice and tasty, simple.

Pan-fried monkfish with a Basque seafood stew.

Wow! Can you truly do this, Phil?

I hope so. Semi-finals...

I want to stay in. I've got to show you guys what I've learnt.

Show a little bit with my rugby - South of France, food we've eaten.

-Is this inspired by your time with the clubs?

-That's where it came from.

Particular when you play Biarritz and go out in the carnivals afterwards,

big paellas, big stews, just dollop it on.

You don't know what's in it half the time, but it tastes great. So this is my inspiration.

How much of this, Phil, is about the love of food,

and how much is that competitive edge of, "I just want to win!"?

I love food, I don't think you can question that,

if you are, we'll see each other outside later,

but I also know that I've got to show you guys what I've learnt.

Also, I said at the beginning I want to be here at the end

and to be here at the end, I can't sit back.

I'm with you. We'll take him. We'll take him. I'm with you.

Phil is doing a great big Basque fish stew

that he's serving with monkfish.

The flavours excite me, the presentation worries me.

I tell you what, it's all go here!

40 minutes gone!

Kirsty is a well-respected journalist.

She is a ferocious competitor.

At times, we see things which are big and ugly...

IN DEEP VOICE: Big pie!

That's a strange-looking plate.

..at times, we see beautiful dishes.

Today, this makes me smile. There's some finesse.

With Kirsty, it's all or nothing.

Today, I want to see something truly consistent.

PAN SIZZLES

I think my cooking has improved,

and that has been a great joy because I love cooking.

I am thinking about food and recipes and combinations

the whole time.

Sourcing particular lentils, that kind of thing!

It seems kind of bizarre!

-Kirsty, what are you cooking today?

-Cod on lentils

with a hot, smoky tomato sauce, with green beans tied with chives.

-Where's the inspiration come from?

-I love cooking with lentils and I love good fish.

And partly because I didn't do my salmon properly before. I overcooked it.

And I really like skin on fish, so I think cod's a great fish to leave the skin on,

if you can cook it properly.

-As a journalist, your mind must be racing all the time.

-Yes.

Current affairs, politics...

How do you have time to actually cook?

It's a different part of your brain, and it's such a great thing to do

because you use different sensations than you do when interviewing people.

It's much more of a physical thing, because you're touching and tasting.

-It's also incredibly, normally, relaxing.

-Yes.

Normally. Is today relaxing?

No, but I've tried to pare down.

I went hell for leather in my three courses, and I think I did too much.

What I want to do is create a simple dish with great flavours.

Kirsty is out to prove she can do a dish which has absolute beauty

and it's refined and has balance.

Anything with lentils is a wet dish, so how is she going to make that look pretty?

And where do the beans and the sauce go?

It's a presentation question mark for me.

Nick is an actor on Hollyoaks.

He ran a restaurant, and his food is almost restaurant standard.

The risotto is lovely. Light and fragrant, with some herbs.

A big "mmm" for the risotto.

-Delicious.

-I love it! It's a great dish!

It's clean and crisp when he doesn't get in a flap.

You're getting flustered and you're making mistakes. Calm yourself down.

Today, he has to stay calm.

I'm nervous. All the feelings are coming back.

I've practiced this dish two times.

Hopefully, I can knock it out, third time lucky.

Nick, there's some extraordinary equipment here and some cracking ingredients.

I'm doing a lobster ravioli with a nice sauce on the top.

-Ooh!

-So, why are you looking like a builder?

You've got your pencil behind your ear...

Just for my little tick list, to make sure I've got everything.

-How much pressure is it?

-Well, it is.

I've practiced it at home, but it's a whole different ball game when you're here.

-You either get it absolutely right, or it's a complete shambles.

-Exactly.

-Pressure!

Obviously now the competition means a little bit more to you?

When you've come this far, you want to go all the way.

It's like when you go for a casting.

You do your first audition, they call you back, and then it's like, "I really want the part."

-Good luck, Nick.

-Good luck, Nick.

Lobster ravioli with a shellfish sauce,

served with a lobster on the top, magnificent!

If he can deliver that, I'll be really impressed!

Ladies and gentlemen, 30 minutes to prove you've got what it takes to stay in the competition!

Tim Lovejoy is a sports-mad television presenter.

Not the most experienced of cooks, but he is getting serious about the competition,

and that fella is doing a fair amount of homework.

I like it. It's light and crisp on the outside,

and it's really strong, with that lovely smoked-fish flavour.

He needs to make sure that he just continues on that road to greatness.

It's simple, but it's going to taste and look fantastic.

-What are you making?

-Roast venison with a red wine reduction,

roasted beetroots, shallots and a sweet potato mash.

Visually, I think it'll look exciting and it's going to taste delicious.

How are you changing as a cook? You're developing quick.

I'm just getting excited. I've never done anything like a reduction,

trying to make a nice sauce.

The venison's a meat not many people cook, a very British meat, I think,

and I thought it'd be really nice to try and perfect.

-Are you up for this today?

-Well, I am, yes.

I'm excited. If I get it right, it's going to taste absolutely delicious.

-I'm excited about roasted beetroot!

-I never thought I would hear the day when Tim says,

"I'm really excited by roast beetroot"!

That is exciting! Yes!

Tim is doing venison with a port and red wine reduction

and sweet potato mash.

As long as Tim can get the balance of flavours absolutely right,

because sweet sauce and sweet potato,

it could be like a dessert if it's not careful.

How many times have we seen venison with mashed potato and red wine sauce?

Is it enough?

Danny is a world-renowned musician.

He has delivered two of the best dishes

I've seen in the competition so far.

That is absolutely delicious.

Absolutely faultless.

But he's also made plenty of mistakes.

It's a bit ordinary.

It's about consistency for Danny. Not impress us one day and disappoint us the next.

I'm fairly confident.

I did a quick run through last night and I was about 15 minutes late.

It's like two or three big bursts of activity.

If I can do that quick enough, it should be fine.

Danny, everything from rubber gloves to okra.

-What are you cooking for us?

-Chicken pie and chips.

Chicken pie and chips! Tell us what you're really cooking.

With a Moroccan twist.

You've got pastry, chicken, but you've got a little bit of sweetness in there.

Not everyone's cup of tea - sweet and meat.

I've made it before and it's gone down really well.

I really like it.

I'll be honest with you. From you, we've seen some absolutely extraordinary food

-and we've seen some pretty average stuff.

-Yes.

Today, what's it going to be like?

I'm hoping it will be all right. I'm just wondering if I've overdone a couple of the ingredients.

You have to try things. You have to push yourself.

-Why do you want to stay in the competition?

-I've put a lot of effort into it.

I just want to see how far I can go and what interesting tasks there are. A holiday would be nice.

-No holidays on here, mate.

-Right.

-You've come to the wrong show!

-Danny, good luck!

-OK, thanks.

Danny's creative mind has kicked in and I like the idea of it.

Moroccan sweet chicken pie, filo pastry, cinnamon and sugar,

and he's serving it with okra chips.

Dangerous. If he pulls it off and it works, fantastic.

Sharon is an actress. She's got a really great palate.

When she gets it right, it can be amazing.

She produced the best chocolate fondant I've seen for a long time on MasterChef.

That rocks. Crusty outside, oozy in the middle.

Absolutely fantastic.

But she does have a habit of playing it a little too safe.

It's a little bit simple.

It doesn't really demonstrate skill.

If she's in here with true confidence,

I think we could see something very special from Sharon.

I've done enough of it now to think, "You can't keep feeling terrorised.

"You've got to start trying to enjoy it."

I'm weirdly confident.

I've turned into a different person. I don't know who I am.

-Sharon.

-Yes?

-What are you cooking for us?

I'm cooking this lamb.

-What's that?

-It's like an Indian dish.

-It's "like" an Indian dish?

-It is an Indian dish.

-What is it?

-It's a masala lamb. It's meant to be a big piece of roast lamb,

but when I tried it yesterday, it takes four hours,

so I've modified it and I'm doing it with cubes of lamb.

-Served with rice?

-It is going to be served with cumin rice.

BOTH: Mm!

We haven't seen Indian or spiced food from you much, have we?

I've never seen it, but I it did yesterday.

So ever practical. Always making sure you're safe.

I've done my work. I don't want to fly on the seat of my pants, as I do in so many other areas.

Today, a good lamb dish from you, yes?

Absolutely. It's going to be great.

-How up for this are you today?

-I'm ready for it. I'm prepared.

She's got to get that spicing and flavouring

absolutely on the money.

I want a really good curry from Sharon,

not something from an average takeaway.

Aggie. TV presenter. I think, a rival domestic goddess.

She has classic dishes and she has masses of knowledge and she is growing in confidence.

That custard is heaven.

Well done.

I really, really like it.

I'm into that!

For Aggie, it's about drawing on that wealth of knowledge

and realising that she does have the potential.

I honestly have no idea whether I can win this or not.

It all depends on how rubbish everyone else is.

I honestly mean that.

-Aggie, you look a little stressed.

-I know! Less than half an hour to go.

Yes, it's a bit touch and go.

-What dish are you making for us?

-I'm doing tortelloni stuffed with scallop, crab, prawn,

with seared scallops and a butter and chive sauce.

-Ooh!

-Is this an ode to your first ever test?

It absolutely is, John.

You first walked in this kitchen, we asked you to make crab ravioli, it was a semi disaster.

Yep! So ashamed of it and I thought, "I've got to put that right."

-What's at stake here for you today?

-Quite a lot.

I really want to get through to the next stage. I really do, actually.

Aggie, why is this dish important to you?

I love scallops, so I'm going to try and make this elegant little number.

Can I get on with it now?

-We'll leave you to it. Good luck.

-Thank you.

I love the sound of Aggie's dish -

the pasta with the scallops and a buerre blanc,

but it is technically challenging and Aggie does not look comfortable.

We know she's up against it. We've had to walk away because she can't quite cope with the pressure.

DRAMATIC MUSIC

Four minutes! Just four minutes! That's all you've got.

Final touches. You've got 35 seconds.

That's it! Time's up! Stop. Stop touching it.

That's it! Time's up.

ATMOSPHERIC MUSIC

Over the last few weeks, these celebrity cooks have given their all.

But only six can stay in the competition.

TENSE MUSIC

First up is Nick,

who's cooked scallop, lobster, smoked salmon and tarragon ravioli,

topped with lobster meat and a lobster bisque.

Oh! Happy days!

All right. Cor!

That thing is a knockout. Absolute knockout.

It is meaty, sweet. There's almost like a caramel finish to that sauce.

Lobster on the top, as well. Mate, that is a wonderful thing. A wonderful thing.

But... that pasta needs to be a little thinner. Look at how thick that is.

I should've trimmed it round the edges.

-Your pasta dough is a little bit gluey.

-All right.

Running through that is a wonderful mixture of scallop and lobster.

Fresh with tarragon, vibrant, beautifully seasoned.

Sitting on top of that is the most wonderful, sweet, aromatic sauce,

rich and caramel, with perfectly-cooked lobster on top.

Stunning! Absolutely stunning!

Overall, I'm happy. It's a little bit annoying that I bodged up the pasta,

but that's the best comments I've had,

so I'm hoping that will keep me in good stead

to put me through to the next round.

Kirsty's dish is crispy-skinned cod on puy lentils

with French beans and a hot smoky tomato sauce.

Don't look at me like that, young lady! You love this dish, don't you?

And if we don't like it, you're going to be really upset!

It looks great.

It's elegant, it's clean, it's crisp.

I love that colour.

I really like it.

Er, I love the soft lentils, all those little sweet vegetables running all the way through.

They're beautifully cooked and seasoned.

Your skin on your fish should be crispy. It's not quite crispy.

But the flesh underneath is beautiful.

Your tomato sauce, on its own, is wonderful.

Put together with that cod and the lentils,

it doesn't quite deliver the spice you need.

You have before had issues with proportion and with the look of your dishes.

I think that looks lovely.

Very good, up to a point.

This sauce needs to be more powerful.

It loses itself amongst the lentils, which is a shame,

because when you do get a bit of that sweetness,

it makes a lovely extra note.

It's good cooking.

I like it. I would like that sauce to be a little stronger.

Thank you.

Overall today, I was happy with my cooking.

There's some very strong cooks in there.

I can only hope.

Linda has cooked Malaysian beef and potato curry

with rice, a cucumber raita and home-made chapatti.

It looks really good.

-If you were going to a Malaysian restaurant, I think you'd expect something like this.

-Oh!

I've got to praise you for all the work you've put in today.

Making bread, doing the dip, making the curry, doing the rice

and presenting it like this, I think is absolutely brilliant.

The yoghurt dressing on the side always points to me

that that curry is going to be fiercely hot,

and it doesn't quite deliver on that chilli front. It still is a little bit light.

The rice is cooked beautifully. Love the bread. I like the dressing.

Love the potatoes in that curry. The beef is a bit hard and chewy.

I like the taste, like the raita, love the bread, the chapattis.

I think the meat and potatoes needs a little bit more cooking.

Maybe this is a dish that simply can't be done in an hour and a half.

I think I will be in the group that's being weighed up to go home.

And I hope that maybe along the way, I've done enough to stay in

because I don't think my dish today probably did enough to keep me in.

Phil has made pan-fried monkfish in a seafood stew,

served with a Tabasco-infused rouille.

Wow!

You've made your own fish stock from scratch

and you can taste it.

The underlying strength inside that little bowl

is just extraordinary.

Smoky sausage, soft potatoes, sweet peppers,

that rouille - wonderful and rich!

What have you put in there to make it as strong as possible?

There's a little bit of Tabasco, which probably brings it out.

What I like about it is, you've found your place

between that elegance

and the rustic world that you love so much.

It delivers far more than I expected.

Really, really well done.

-I think that looks lovely. Really lovely.

-Thank you.

Monkfish is soft and lovely. There is a smokiness in there that I didn't expect. Really nice.

And an almost fruity, but strong garlic tang from that rouille.

But this broth needs to be stronger.

It's a little watery.

I want to get to the final.

But having seen people today and the way that they cook,

am I good enough?

I honestly don't know.

Tim has made venison with roasted beetroot,

sweet potato mash and a red wine reduction.

Well, nice ingredients. It's rustic. It's a little bit Sunday lunch-ish.

The meat is cooked really well. I love the earthiness of that roasted beetroot.

That port and wine reduction has got an almost tobacco, but sharp vinegary feel to it.

Love that sauce.

I find it a little bit sweet with the sweet potato.

The venison is cooked beautifully.

Your sauce could be reduced a bit more to make it a bit more sticky.

Presentation... There is a part of your plate which I love,

and that's that rustic beetroot.

And then there's this trying to be elegant

with the dome of potato and a sauce boat.

I think, Tim, you've got to find a direction.

I'm impressed by what I did today,

but I think my competitors have gone that little bit above me

with, possibly, their techniques.

Danny's dish is a Moroccan chicken pie,

sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon,

with fried okra chips.

-It looks an absolute sight.

-Yes!

-It is pretty unattractive, isn't it?

-It's like something you'd find in a field.

-Your North African chicken pie looks dry.

-Yes.

But it's not. It's wonderful and moist.

The chicken's cooked really well with that liquid,

the sweetness of the apricots, all that spicing, the sauce inside,

-brilliantly executed!

-Oh, good.

If you've invented that out of your mind, that's great!

-It's big.

-Big.

-I like the way it tastes.

-Yes.

-The meat is really soft.

There is a hint of spice, a hint of cumin.

But I love the sweetness across the top.

You go from sweet to spicy quite easily.

I like the powerful flavour of the okra, the crispiness on the outside.

I really like the way it tastes.

-I think it could look smarter with a bit more effort.

-OK.

There's no way I'm going home. I think they love that it looked like

it'd been laid in a field and I'd picked it up.

I think they love that. There's no way I'm going home today.

Sharon's made lamb masala with cumin rice

and a coriander mint dressing.

Here, standing this far away from the bench, I can smell your food,

-and I think that's a really good sign.

-Good.

Bang! That wonderful spice of India hits your palate!

-It tastes great!

-Wow.

There's the coriander and the mint with the sweet tomato, the cumin-rich rice.

But your lamb is dry. Dry, dry, dry.

And it's such a shame

because the background, what it tastes like, is brilliant.

I like your presentation. It shows imagination, creativity. I like it.

It's nicely flavoured.

It's very mild. It could be stronger.

John's right, the lamb is very dry. It's very chewy.

Considering that I had one recipe that I adapted virtually on the hoof,

and I've never, ever in my life cooked Indian food before,

I just did the best I could and I am really proud of what I did.

Finally, it's Aggie,

who's made a scallop, crab and prawn tortellini

with a chive buerre blanc,

served with seared scallops topped with caviar.

That is a very, very expensive-looking dish.

It starts off with that rich sauce,

and then you end up with the sweetness of the scallop, the sweetness of the crab,

and that casing of that tortellini.

An extraordinary balancing act,

because that butter sauce is really powerful, that crab is really strong,

but somehow, you've managed to get the scallop to stand out by itself.

Accomplished dish. Aggie, I love it.

Oh, wow! I'm so chuffed.

-You're made up, Aggie, aren't you?

-Oh, Lordy! Yes!

It shouldn't matter this much, but it does!

Yes.

Well, that's elegant, Aggie.

That's professional-looking. Lovely-looking dish.

Yes, Aggie, that's beautiful. That is really, really lovely.

That pasta is really, really light. You get butteriness, a little bit of vinegar acidity,

and then in comes the sweetness of the crab,

little salt and fish explosions with the caviar.

Honestly, that's a restaurant-standard dish.

-That is lovely.

-Thank you.

-Aggie, I'm really proud of you.

Cheers. Thank you. I'm proud, too.

-Aggie, thank you very much.

-Thanks.

Do you know, if I didn't go through today, I'd launch a public enquiry.

I feel that confident! I shouldn't say that, should I?!

GENTLE MUSIC

We knew that you eight were talented.

But I've got to say that all of you today have surpassed yourselves.

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. But now, for Gregg and I,

an extraordinary decision to be made.

Thanks very much.

DANNY SIGHS

-Relax!

-It's over!

-Well done, everybody!

-I don't think anyone had a nightmare.

AGGIE: How quickly did that hour and a half go?!

Any reservations about these eight have been blown apart.

We had food from all round the world. That's what I loved about today - the inspiration.

They're all being creative, thinking differently,

producing food they wanted to cook, food that they actually believe in.

There is no-one in this room that matched the achievement

or got anywhere near, in my opinion, Aggie.

I thought that was amazing!

-Amazing!

-Yes, it was beautiful. It really was.

-Oh, mate!

She took a whole crab, picked the meat out,

made her own pasta, made a classic buerre blanc, beautifully cooked scallops,

and then put everything on a plate

and made it look absolutely stunning.

That was exquisite. Beautiful food.

-So Aggie stays.

-She's in.

For me, the standout dish of the day was Nick.

Because that ravioli, the flavours, the background of it was just stunning!

That filling, with tarragon and scallop

and that lobster sitting on top,

bits of smoked salmon running through it, so smokiness,

a richness of brandy on the background of the sauce...

It was a really lovely dish.

The flavour inside was good. It was powerful.

But I think with Nick, it could've been prettier, and the pasta was a little chewy.

-I don't think Nick's dish was as good as Aggie's, but Nick is definitely in.

-Good.

I tell you who I loved, who I thought came of age today, and that was Kirsty.

That's the sort of thing you keep going back to.

The crispy-skinned cod, flaking away,

on top of very well-flavoured lentils.

I love the way she presented the dish -

lovely square of cod, little pile of lentils,

little dish of the sauce, the little bundle of beans.

Everything beautifully seasoned and beautifully cooked.

I'd love to make it to the final group.

For me, that would just be fantastic.

But it still seems a very long way away.

Big Phil.

He said he wanted to do Basque-inspired food.

You could easily walk round Southern France or Northern Spain and get that sort of food.

And that rouille! He put Tabasco in a garlic rouille! That was inspired.

Today, Phil found his footing, his true style.

It was a cross between big and rustic, but it still had finesse.

-Phil's in.

-Good.

I've achieved everything I wanted.

Yes, I could've done little bits better,

but, you know, it's brilliant. I'm really, really pleased.

I'm going to stick my hand up for Danny.

Cor!

I think that Danny is really interesting. He's really creative.

Beautifully moist, well-spiced, sweet-but-savoury chicken pie with crispy filo,

sugar and cinnamon on top.

-Mm.

-Brave, gutsy, well executed.

Yes, it wasn't attractive, but it was really delicious.

I liked Danny's food. I wouldn't say it was absolutely delicious.

I think he still thinks that he can play everything for laughs,

and I'd like to see him push himself.

I've got a feeling, if I can pull this one off,

I've definitely got a good chance of going through.

I think I've got a bit more in me.

OK, now we have our three leftover. We have Linda, Sharon and Tim.

-That's a hard one.

-It is.

Sharon - not very much imagination. Decent presentation.

But tough meat and not a huge bag of flavour.

You can't take a recipe with lamb that takes four hours to cook

and try and condense the time to an hour and a half. It doesn't work.

If they say it's not good enough, it's still the best I've done.

I'm pleased with it.

Tim cooked all right today.

Venison, mash, roast beetroot, red wine sauce...

It's not that exciting!

When you're with people with flair and imagination,

you look at a bit of reduction and mash thinking, "Really?"

I'd love to go through, but the thing I keep thinking to myself is,

some of these guys have got skills and they're really going for it.

I'm struggling to come up with dishes.

Linda pushed herself today and I'm pleased she did.

It didn't really come off the way she wanted it to,

but the flavour of that curry was the flavour of Malaysia.

But the meat was dry. The potatoes needed more cooking. I don't know!

I'll be ecstatic if I get through,

because that will mean there's only six of us,

and that's a 50/50 chance of getting through to the final, which would be amazing!

ATMOSPHERIC MUSIC

Linda, Sharon and Tim... They're the ones we've got question marks over.

Who's worth another try?

Thank you very much indeed. You should be extremely proud,

extremely proud, because you cooked really, really well.

In a room full of good cooking, there was, we feel,

one absolutely standout dish,

by far the dish of the day.

And that dish belonged to Aggie.

You go through, Aggie. Well done.

TENSE MUSIC

Right. There were other very, very good dishes.

Nick, well done. You go through. Brilliant.

Kirsty, brilliantly well done. You're in.

Phil. Well done, big man.

One other person...

..was Danny. Thank you, Danny.

Right, we know how high the standard was today,

and you three, we enjoyed your food,

but it did have issues.

Two of you have to go. One of you, we feel,

is good enough to stay in the competition.

The cook staying with us...

..is...

..Linda.

-Oh!

-SHARON: Well done.

Very well done.

I enjoyed myself, so I'm disappointed I'm not going to carry on doing it.

I needed to do a lot more today than I did,

and I didn't, so it's my fault that I'm out.

SHARON: I don't think I could've done any more.

I'm really pleased with how far I've come!

I made it to the semi-final. I'm really pretty proud of that.

LINDA: Thank you so much!

-You six, fantastic.

-Rock and roll, people. Well done!

I am absolutely amazed. Wow.

Standing there in that three, I'd already planned to give them a kiss goodbye.

I think it must've been on things I've done in the past and...

I don't care! I'm here!

I'm delighted. I worked hard

and I wanted it to be good and it seemed to have been OK.

I'm so chuffed. I feel so honoured.

Extremely happy. I'm going to go and find myself a nice bit of draught beer

and sit down and just assess the day.

Tomorrow,

the celebrities face their most daunting challenge yet.

Get some rounds down!

No, I'm not very happy. One down, seven million to go.

I can't think of a worse group of people to upset than these.

Can you?

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

-Move, move, move!

-Let me check the pork's not burning!

This is the British Army. They don't get it wrong. We can't get it wrong.

HE BELLOWS

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