Nobody was sent home in the Celebrity MasterChef semi-finals, which was an unexpected surprise.
Dani Dyer, James Buckley, Marcus Brigstocke, and Mica Ven gave it their all in the exciting semi-finals on Thursday, being tested on everything from sushi to burgers.
While both James and Mica were anxious that their time was up since their last dishes – burger and chips with their own spin – had some flaws, they could breathe a sigh of relief when they made it to the finals.
In reality, all of the hopeful cooks advanced because judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace determined they couldn’t afford to lose any of them.
When asked who had performed the worst in the final task, John stated that they ‘both made wonderful burgers, but not very nice chips,’ while Gregg agreed it was a ‘burger off,’ adding that it was a ‘very difficult choice.’
When it came time to announce the finalists – and who was going home – the judges flipped everything upside down after announcing Marcus and Dani were out.
They told 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.’
The pair were absolutely flabbergasted when Gregg added: ‘Both of those burgers were just top quality, we don’t want to lose you.’
Mica in particular seemed in shock, shouting out: ‘What?!’ while James was in disbelief, later clapping his hands to his mouth.
He soon cheered right up and, on top of the world, announced he ‘can’t wait to see what happens next.’
The shocking non-elimination came too late for TV star Richie Anderson, who was eliminated on Wednesday – the series’ first, and so far only, elimination.
Richie claimed to being ‘extremely humiliated’ when he presented jerk chicken that was still pink in the centre.
He subsequently stated that he was “gutted” to be eliminated, but that he had a “amazing time” and had “caught the bug” for cooking.
Celebrity MasterChef continues 8.30pm on BBC One and iPlayer
