Yahoo News Celebrity MasterChef fans confused over same thing as Ian 'H' Watkins wows in the kitchen
The contestants had to whip up two courses in the tense quarter final
What did you miss?
Celebrity MasterChef viewers have revealed they are confused about how Steps' Ian 'H' Watkins is doing so well after he admitted he had "zero" experience.
The singer and TV star confessed to some nerves before the BBC series got under way, explaining on ITV's Lorraine that he had "zero cooking experience". And as he got started on MasterChef, he shared: "I'm nervous because all I've ever known, please don't judge me, is a microwave and an air fryer."
But he has now seen off competition from three out of the five celebs in his heat of the competition, and is racing towards the semi-finals.
What, how, and why?
Friday's episode (16 August) saw the remaining contestants - Watkins, radio star Edith Bowman and This Morning's Craig Doyle - tasked with making two dishes in not much more than an hour.
The Steps star opted for a sirloin steak with mushrooms and tomatoes, and a brioche, chocolate and marmalade pudding, along with a "basket of sugar". As he started his prep by chopping an onion, he exclaimed: "Check me chopping! I couldn't do this a week ago!"
His main course impressed judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace - although Wallace admitted he had wanted some chips on the side of his steak. And his dessert, plus the fact he managed to make a sugar nest at all, wowed them both. "H, you are my new hero," said Wallace, as Torode noted that he had "gone the extra mile".
However, his culinary prowess surprised some. "H seems to have suddenly remembered he is quite a good cook at home," teased one person on X.
Another joked: "Has H said he hasn't cooked steak before? I wasn't listening." Someone else quipped that it was "cobblers", asking: "Are we seriously saying that H has only ever cooked using a microwave and air fryer?"
"I’m at a loss as to how H is doing this if all he cooks at home is air-fryer and microwave food," remarked someone else.
What else happened on Celebrity MasterChef?
Watkins' Celebrity MasterChef heat had also included Geordie Shore star Charlotte Crosby and radio star Snoochie Shy, but both were sent packing in earlier episodes. The latest instalment saw Edith Bowman handed her marching orders, after Torode and Wallace decided her beef carpaccio and aubergine starter were not ambitious enough for this stage of the competition.
"I've had a ball," she said as she left the kitchen. "I am gutted to be going home but I think I have taken loads away from the whole experience. It has been a real inspiration."
"H (Watkins) and Craig (Doyle) really deserve to be going through to the semis so I will be cheering them on," she added.
