Celebrity MasterChef viewers have one demand as special guest appears

What did you miss?

Celebrity MasterChef fans have called for Ainsley Harriott to be made a permanent part of the show after he made a guest appearance in the latest episode.

The BBC cooking competition is inching towards its final and in Thursday, 12 September's show celeb chef Harriott joined judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace to critique the remaining contestants. Viewers were charmed as he danced around the kitchen, offering bits of advice and making encouraging comments about their dishes.

And many posted messages on social media urging show bosses to give the Ready Steady Cook star a more regular position on the programme.

What, how and why?

The episode started with seven celebs still in the running - This Morning's Craig Doyle, make-up artist Dominic Skinner, Gladiators' Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, Steps star Ian ‘H’ Watkins, actors Rochenda Sandall and Tamer Hassan and Strictly's Vito Coppola.

As the episode got under way, Harriott turned up amid much excitement and tasked them with making some of his favourite dishes, including tacos, banana fritters and goat.

Viewers were thrilled to see him, posting messages on X saying he was a "legend" and "a national treasure". And many begged for him to get a full time spot.

One said: "Ainsley Harriott is a natural Yoda on MasterChef. Lovely professional person, he is! Keep."

They added: "Ainsley Harriott belongs here. He may never leave. I’m not saying we’ll kidnap him. But we MIGHT kidnap him. But he can call home. For two minutes. (Also, we won’t do that but we do love him)."

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"Ainsley is a legend and brilliant on Celebrity MasterChef, can we keep him every episode?" asked someone else, adding the hashtag "#keepainsley" to their comment. "Would actually quite like to see Ainsley as a presenter on this," agreed another fan.

Another said "every programme is made better by the presence of Ainsley Harriott".

What else happened on Celebrity MasterChef?

The episode also saw an elimination, with Skinner getting the chop. He was cut after some dough issues with a pizza he made in the second stage of the latest challenge, and looked disappointed as Wallace and Torode confirmed his time in the kitchen had come to an end.

"This competition has totally inspired me to get more creative in the kitchen," he said after being handed his marching orders.

He quipped: "I think that might just leap over into my make-up. Fancy a bit of a bacon highlight? Sausage lips? Bit of egg in the eye? I mean, it's a full breakfast right there!"

Celebrity MasterChef is streaming on BBC iPlayer