Celebrity MasterChef fans left baffled by unexpected elimination twist
Celebrity MasterChef fans were left baffled on Thursday's episode as judges, Gregg Wallace and John Torode, were faced with a tough elimination decision. The first episode of series 18 aired on Wednesday night, where Dani Dyer, James Buckley, Marcus Brigstocke, Mica Ven and Richie Anderson battled it out in the kitchen.
Sadly, Strictly star Richie, 35, was eliminated, sending Dani, 26, James, 35, Marcus, 50, and Mica, 44, through to the next round, which aired on Thursday, where they had to battle it out for a place in the quarter-final, including a stint in a professional kitchen with chefs.
As the end of the episode came to a near, Gregg, 58, and John, 58, had a difficult decision to make after tasking the celebrities with creating their own food truck recipes, which they would hypothetically sell at a market from their own food van.
However, instead of eliminating a celebrity, the two judges decided to send all four contestants through to the next round, the quarter-final, leaving the stars and viewers at home stunned. After Marcus and Dani secured places, the judges said: "Mica and James, this decision has been extremely tough. The decision is... that you're both going through to the quarter-final. It's too tough to call guys", adding: "We don't want to lose you."
The Inbetweeners star James said: "Very lucky to still be here... definitely worth a celebration. Can't wait to see what happens next! Anything could happen!" while Dani added: "The feeling you get is just incredible! I ain't felt like this in ages, actually! I love it, it's so much fun."
Marmite and toast addict loses the weight of two people after tragic health newsHowever, some viewers were left baffled over the twist as they questioned what was the point of the challenges if all four stars were going through. Taking to Twitter, one person said: "So that whole episode was pointless. UK MasterChef never fails to baffle me. #CelebrityMasterChef" while a different account added: "First two rounds a total waste of time, not mentioned in the judging."
But not all fans thought the same as one person wrote: "That's great - they were all so good! #CelebrityMasterChef", a different account put: "Fair result #CelebrityMasterChef @MasterChefUK" while another viewer added: "Fantastic all 4. Boom! #CelebrityMasterChef."