Celebrity MasterChef crowns 2026 winner after "impossible" final

Note: Spoilers follow for the final of Celebrity MasterChef 2026.

The winner of this year's Celebrity MasterChef has been crowned after a mouth-watering final. Paralympic athlete Lauren Steadman MBE, weightlifter and Olympic medallist Emily Campbell and Love Island favourite Shakira Khan battled it out in the kitchen, before Grace Dent and Giorgio Locatelli settled on a champion.

All three hopefuls impressed, and Dent called the decision "really, really impossible" - but ultimately it was Lauren who emerged triumphant.

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"I'm shaking," she beamed, saying the result was "kind of really special, literally up there with a Paralympic gold medal".

Dent said: "Throughout this competition, Lauren has cooked at an exquisite level. And today, quite simply, she served some really, really wonderful food."

"She seems to turn everything to an advantage," Locatelli added. "And that, for me, is why she is our Celebrity MasterChef champion."

Campbell called Steadman's win "more than deserved", joking: "Honestly, I'm just so glad it's over."

Poking fun at her runner-up placement on Love Island last year, Khan quipped: "Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. I'm first runner-up loser, again. But it's been a wonderful experience and I've had a ball. Gold medal performance from Lauren. Well done, my girl. Very proud of her."

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Lauren's winning three-course meal started with scallops pan fried in chilli butter, served with a coconut and spinach lentil dahl puree and crowned with fresh apple batons. For her main course, she prepared beef wellington with truffle mash, caramelised shallot, butternut squash puree, tender stem broccoli and a red wine jus.

It was her dessert of a classic sticky toffee pudding that truly left the judges in awe, with Locatelli saying: "Mamma mia... this is the best sticky toffee pudding I've ever had." Dent, meanwhile, called it "exemplary" and "10 out of ten".

The result went down very well with viewers online, with one posting on X: "Well deserved win for Lauren Steadman on #celebritymasterchef! All three finalists would have been worthy winners, they all took it seriously and learned so much but Lauren had the edge for me. Been a great series, loved Grace & Giorgio as hosts, both warm and encouraging."

Another said that Lauren's win was "deserved SO much", while a third posted: "So pleased for her. I would order her menu in a restaurant and hoover it up. I want that sticky toffee pudding!"

Celebrity MasterChef is streaming now on BBC iPlayer.

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Shaun is an Evening News Editor at Digital Spy, with over a decade of experience reporting on all things pop culture. He has written for outlets including Metro, Attitude, Huffington Post, The Mirror, Yahoo!, Pink News and Express Online, specialising in TV, movies, soaps, music and LGBTQ+ issues. He is also a BAFTA Rocliffe-winning scriptwriter, having written episodes of the soap Hollyoaks, the official Steps musical Here & Now and multiple Offie Award-nominated plays. He studied English Literature and Drama at the University of East Anglia, and will happily talk at length about Desperate Housewives to anyone who'll listen.