Sue Cleaver gets Celebrity MasterChef off to a dramatic start tonight as she makes her first appearance in the kitchen.
The Coronation Street actress, 62, is one of the final group of famous faces hoping to impress the judges on the BBC cooking competition.
However, Sue’s arrival does not exactly go to plan as Heat 3 gets underway and she suffers a nasty accident.
“I’ve nearly cut my finger off and it’s only Day 1,” she admits.
The Loose Women panelist is left struggling to use her hand properly as the competition continues. Things then go from bad to worse when she drops her food on the floor.
Who’s in tonight’s Celebrity MasterChef 2026?
There are five celebrities taking part in Heat 3 of Celebrity MasterChef. Sue is joined by Saturdays singer Una Healy, Paralympian Lauren Steadman, DJ and presenter Melvin Odoom and YouTuber Max Fosh.
This is the final group of new celebrities to enter the kitchen this series. By the end of the week, the three remaining contestants will join the six other semi finalists of 2026.
For their first challenge, the five celebrities are asked to prepare their Signature Dish. Sue soon finds herself in trouble, though, after slicing her finger with a very special and sharp knife.
“Oh, plaster. Already. That didn’t take long, did it?” Sue says while preparing her lamb kofta dish. She later tells judges Grace Dent and Giorgio Locatelli: “I’m panicking a bit. I’ve cut myself already.
“It was on my very special knife that my son bought me especially for this.”
Giorgio raises his eyebrows before explaining: “That’s a Japanese knife. It’s a very sharp one!”
Sadly, Sue’s injury turns out to be worse than she initially thought. TV medics on standby strap up her finger and place it inside a rubber cover.
However, the injury leaves Sue struggling for the remainder of the day.
Things take another unfortunate turn during a cook-a-long with Giorgio when Sue drops her entire bowl of tomato salsa onto the floor.
Disaster strikes, but can Sue somehow turn things around?
When is Celebrity MasterChef on?
Celebrity MasterChef airs at 9pm on BBC One tonight (Tuesday September 1, 2026).
As this is their first round, nobody will be sent home tonight. Sue, Una, Lauren, Melvin and Max will all progress to the second round of challenges, but only one will receive the coveted MasterChef pin.
The series continues at 9pm tomorrow night (Wednesday September 2, 2026) on BBC One.
Celebrity guest Angry Ginge will challenge the five contestants to rustle up something for him. Max is particularly put off by the fellow YouTuber’s presence!
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