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Celebrity line-up announced for second series of Cooking With The Stars

The show is returning with a new selection of famous faces.

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Anton Du Beke will swap his dancing shoes for kitchen utensils when he competes on Cooking With The Stars.

The Strictly Come Dancing judge, 55, is one of eight celebrities who will appear on the second series of the ITV show, partnered with TV chef Rosemary Shrager.

He will star alongside Olympic athlete Dame Kelly Holmes, The Chase professional quizzer Anne Hegerty and former Love Island contestant Maura Higgins.

Strictly Come Dancing
Anton Du Beke (BBC/PA)

This Morning host and reality TV personality Josie Gibson, TV doctor Ranj Singh, comedian Joe Wilkinson and Woody Cook, son of BBC presenter Zoe Ball and DJ Fatboy Slim, will also feature.

The series will see the celebrities paired with an accomplished chef who will mentor them towards becoming restaurant-standard cooks.

Pros taking part this year include chef and owner Ronnie Murray, who is partnered with Dame Kelly, and Jack Stein, chef director across his father Rick Stein’s restaurant group, who is paired with Higgins.

Michelin-starred French chef Jean-Christophe Novelli will lend a helping hand to Hegerty.

Emma Willis and Tom Allen will also return as hosts of the cooking series, which is scheduled to air in the summer.

Pride of Sport Awards 2019 – London
Dame Kelly Holmes (Lia Toby/PA)

Willis said: “Tom and I had so much fun last series and I’m looking forward to getting back into the kitchen.

“The pressure the celebs are under is real and once the competition starts heating up everybody wants to win, but I’m hoping there isn’t as much blood as last series.”

Allen said: “Last series was so exciting. Emma Willis and I have been polishing our frying pans in preparation – we have so much fun working together.

“The celebrities are being trained by some of the best chefs in the business and with the clock ticking it’s always tense to see if they’ll improve their cooking enough each week to measure up to the judges’ high standards.”

Katie Rawcliffe, head of entertainment commissioning at ITV, said: “With the warmth of Emma and the wit of Tom I’m excited to see what culinary delights this year’s cooking novices bring to the table.”

Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas, DJ and I’m A Celebrity star Naughty Boy and TV presenter and Strictly star AJ Odudu were among the celebrities featured in the first series, with McFly star Harry Judd crowned the winner.

The series is a partnership between Marks & Spencer, ITV and independent production company South Shore.

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