Celebrity MasterChef 2025: Jaki Graham is sent home after serving up dry chicken and raw potatoes
The judges also called her pudding a 'diaster'Jaki Graham is the latest person to be sent home from Celebrity MasterChef 2025 thanks to dry chicken, raw potatoes and a “disaster” dessert.
The singer, 69, is the first budding chef to be eliminated from the second week of heats in the BBC One show.
Jaki was up against Love Island-turned-racing pundit Chris Hughes, Hollyoaks actor Jamie Lomas, broadcaster Dawn O’Porter and Liberty X singer, Michelle Heaton.
But unfortunately her dishes failed to impress the judges. Her overcooked chicken and raw fondant potatoes definitely didn’t go down well!
Here’s where it all went wrong for Jaki…
Celebrity MasterChef: Jaki Graham is sent home
We are now in the second heat of Celebrity MasterChef and the competitors were really put to the test tonight.
Things started off with a visit from Poppy O’Toole, a Michelin-trained chef. Poppy is also dubbed the ‘potato queen’ and has a huge following on social media for her potato dishes.
Their first challenge was to each cook one of Poppy’s fancy potato dishes. Jaki was asked to create a dish using pan-roasted chicken supreme in a honey and chipotle sauce. It was served with baby fondant potatoes.
But unfortunately, she over-cooked the chicken and undercooked the potatoes. Poppy told Jaki: “It probably needed a little less cooking. It’s dried it out ever so slightly. Fondants, nice bit of caramelisation on both sides but, in the middle, it’s a touch too hard.”
Celebrity MasterChef judge, Grace Dent, agreed, saying: “The meat is a bit dry. Fondant potatoes.. there’s a bit just in the middle that’s raw.”
Jaki’s ‘diaster pudding’
Next up, the contestants had to create a two-course dinner party dish. Jaki made salmon and added the super-hot chilli, Scotch Bonet. It was inspired by her husband Tony.
But she then struggled to make a thin crepe and admitted she didn’t know what fruit compote is when it came to dessert.
Tucking in at the end of the task, John told her: “The salmon is slightly over cooked and it’s gone a little dry. The sauce on its own is ferocious.”
Grace added: “Your salmon is definitely over. However, what I do love is that really, really hot sauce. I can tell you have made it for your husband for years and you’ve made it with love.”
Sadly, her pudding fell flat, too. “The crepe is far too thick and rather chewy,” Grace told Jaki. John added: “For me, a compote is far more stewed down so it hasn’t got large pieces of fruit in it. It hasn’t quite worked out.”
When summing up, Grace even described Jaki’s dessert as a “disaster”. After being told she was leaving, Jaki said: “I’m being honest, I’m gutted.”
Who are the heat 2 quarter finalists?
Michelle and Jamie impressed the most in the first round with their potato dishes. But there were lots of struggles in round two.
Michelle served up a steak and was told it needed a sauce. Her lemon cheesecake was criticised for being “too crumbly”.
Jamie, meanwhile, cooked a butter chicken curry and rice. It was followed by an apple and blackberry crumble. John told him: “You’ve made a curry that some people will put their head in a bucket of water afterwards.”
The actor was also told his crumble wasn’t a crumble, as it was too hard.
Chris, meanwhile, had mixed reviews. He served chicken breast in tomato and garlic sauce with roasted potatoes and asparagus. But John said: “Your chicken has gone really hard and really dry. And asparagus doesn’t need to be cooked for 45 minutes, five would be fine.”
However, the star won it back with his roasties. Grace said they were the “best” she’s eaten. His Churros and chocolate sauce were also a winner.
Finally, Dawn produced chicken thighs and chorizo cooked in Vermouth. Her dessert was a traditional Guernsey Gâche Mélée pudding with cognac cream.
Grace was very impressed. She told Dawn she would be removing the car keys from anyone who touched her boozy grub.
When is Celebrity MasterChef on again?
Celebrity MasterChef returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer tomorrow (Thursday November 27, 2025). It will be at the later time of 9pm, however.
Michelle, 46, Jamie, 50, Dawn, 46, and Chris, 32, will be battling it out for a spot in the semi-finals. Expect the usual ‘blindfold’ challenge, where they work in pairs to create an identical dish.
The celebs will then be serving up their best two-course meals to three guest judges.
Tomorrow, they are 2024 champion Vito Coppola and former finalists, actress Rochenda Sandall, and Gladiator Harry Aikines-Aryeetey.
