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'Celebrity MasterChef' 2021: And the winner is...

Programme Name: Celebrity Masterchef S16 - TX: 17/09/2021 - Episode: Celebrity Masterchef S16 - Heat 18, The Final (No. Heat 18, The Final) - Picture Shows: **STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL AFTER HEAT 17 HAS TX'D** Kadeena Cox, Joe Swash, Megan McKenna - (C) Shine TV - Photographer: Production
Kadeena Cox, Joe Swash and Megan McKenna were in the final. (Shine TV)

Kadeena Cox has been named as the winner of Celebrity MasterChef 2021.

Paralympic athlete Cox fought off tough competition from reality star Megan McKenna and former EastEnders actor Joe Swash to be handed the trophy by judges and presenters John Torode and Gregg Wallace.

Read more: Who are the Celebrity MasterChef 2021 finalists?

The BBC One competition's finals have been running over three nights this week with Dion Dublin and Kim Cetinay voted out in earlier rounds to leave tonight's final three.

In the last challenge, the celebs had to cook three courses of their choosing to impress the judges with their accomplishments.

WARNING: Embargoed for publication until 00:00:01 on 22/04/2021 - Programme Name: Celebrity Masterchef S16 - TX: n/a - Episode: Celebrity Masterchef S16 - Contestant Generics (No. Contestant Generics) - Picture Shows: **STRICTLY EMBARGOED NOT FOR PUBLICATION BEFORE 00:01 ON THURSDAY 22ND APRIL 2021** Kadeena Cox - (C) Shine TV - Photographer: Production
Kadeena Cox is the winner of the 2021 contest. (Shine TV)

McKenna made scallops with pea puree, duck with dauphinois potatoes and a lemon tart; Swash cooked tomato and cheese tart, coq au vin and strawberry meringues; and Cox served tempura prawns, salmon and a Bloody Mary granita, a curried goat pie with rack of lamb and chou au craquelin.

All three competitors barely put a foot wrong, but ultimately Cox's inventive menu and incredible amount of work on each dish won her the 2021 title.

Read more: John Torode addresses 'tension' with Celebrity MasterChef co-star Gregg Wallace

She said: "I am absolutely buzzing, this smile is not disappearing from my face for a while.

"I'm just proud of myself for doing it. I didn't change who I was, I learned along the way, but I was still Kadeena right until the end."

Cox added of the trophy: "It's actually quite heavy, it's starting to get heavy in my arms, which means I've missed too much gym training."

Programme Name: Celebrity Masterchef S16 - TX: 17/09/2021 - Episode: Celebrity Masterchef S16 - Heat 18, The Final (No. Heat 18, The Final) - Picture Shows: **STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL AFTER HEAT 17 HAS TX'D** Kadeena Cox, Joe Swash, Megan McKenna - (C) Shine TV - Photographer: Production
All three cooks impressed in the final. (Shine TV)

After her win, Torode said of her food: "It's got heart, it's got soul, it's got love."

Cox, 30, succeeds Irish broadcaster and internet star Riyadh Khalaf, who was the Celebrity MasterChef 2020 winner.

Past winners of the contest have included Greg Rutherford, Lisa Faulkner and Nadia Sawalha.

Watch: Joe Swash serves 'raw duck' on Celebrity MasterChef