Programme fourDarren BennettDarren Bennett was born in 1977 in Deepcar to parents who were professional dancers, and who now own City Limits Dance Centre in Sheffield. Darren's twin brother Dale is also a dancer.  In July 1997 Darren was still an amateur dancer and a shoe company sales manager until his brother Dale introduced him to Lilia Kopylova. It took just 15 minutes for Darren and Lilia to realise how good they were together and a short five months later they won the International and British Youth Championships. In January 1999, Darren and Lilia married. They turned professional in 2003 and are now regarded as one of Britain's finest Latin American dance couples and make regular appearances on British TV. Most recently both Darren and his wife are best known for their appearances on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing. In the final test, Darren served Butternut squash pasta with almond butter, followed by Stuffed cod wrapped in pancetta with rosemary mashed potato. Chris BissonChris first appeared on television as JJ in Children's Ward in 1990. He has also appeared on Prime Suspect and Holby City, but is most recognised for his roles as Saleem Khan in the film East is East, Kash in the television series Shameless, and Vikram Desai in Coronation Street. He also appeared in the stage production of East is East. In May 2003, following his departure from Coronation Street, he featured as a contestant in the second series of I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here, set in the Australian outback.
In the final test, Chris served Black pudding, asparagus and rocket salad, followed by Cod and dhal puri. Angela RipponAngela is one of the best-known faces and voices in British broadcasting. Since her very first television broadcast for BBC Plymouth in September 1966, she has appeared on a variety of radio and television programmes in both Britain and America. While her work has mainly centred on her passion for news and current affairs, Angela has also presented a variety of other genres, including arts and quiz programmes. Her second series of Sun, Sea & Bargain Spotting for BBC Two went on air in January 2007 and she can also be seen presenting BBC One's Cash In The Attic from April 2007. She is a regular presenter on BBC One's Holiday programme. Until September 2005 Angela hosted her own weekend morning show on the ITV News Channel, Live with Angela Rippon. She has recently contributed special reports to ITV's Tonight with Trevor McDonald and Channel Five News. Additionally, she was an anchor for ITV News' coverage of the war in Iraq. Angela has written several books and her most recent, Fabulous at 50 - and Beyond, was published by Macmillan in 2003. In June 2004 Angela was awarded the OBE for services to broadcasting, the arts and charity. She is currently Vice-President of the British Red Cross. In the final test, Angela served Beetroot and goats' cheese with pine nuts, followed by Chicken with tomatoes, balsamic sauce, capers and potatoes. Programme five - week one quarter finalProgramme sixChris HollinsChris became presenter of the sports news on the BBC One Breakfast show in October 2005. He was previously the sports presenter for BBC News 24. Chris covered a host of major events for the channel, including the 2002 World Cup. Chris first joined BBC Sport as a presenter in 1999 and has also presented and reported for Grandstand and Football Focus.
 Before joining the BBC, Chris started his career at Sky Sports in 1994 followed by assignments at Channel One, GMTV, Meridian and Channel 5. A talented sportsman, Chris has played cricket and football to a high level. His father is John Hollins MBE, the former Chelsea, Arsenal, QPR and England footballer.
In the final test, Chris made Prawn, pea and mint risotto, followed by Lamb cutlets with lemon, courgettes and potatoes.
Matt James Matt James is best known as the star of Channel 4's The City Gardener and Selling Houses. Matt's gardening career began as a teenager working on a small farm, leading him to study at various horticultural colleges and work at nurseries. Matt was honoured in 2000 as Londoner of the Year in the field of Environment and Regeneration, in recognition of his work establishing a successful circuit of farmers' markets in the capital. Matt's newest series, Matt James' Eco Eden for UKTV, focuses on green issues by turning natural disasters into eco-friendly gardens. His first book The City Gardener is published by HarperCollins. He is currently writing his second book.
In the final test, Matt cooked Parsley, caper and goats' cheese crostini, followed by Salmon fillets with an orange and beetroot sauce and smashed new potatoes.
Pauline QuirkePauline shot to fame in the late 1960s in Dixon of Dock Green at just ten years old. She later went on to present her own chat show, Pauline's Quirkes, at just 16. Following her success at such a young age, Pauline was given numerous roles in sitcoms and TV series, notably Angels in 1976, and Shine on Harvey Moon in 1982. She had a minor role in the 1980 film The Elephant Man and guest-starred in Girls On Top with Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, but it wasn't until 1989 that she was given the role of a lifetime as Sharon Theodopolopoudos in the hit show Birds of a Feather. Her co-star in the series, Linda Robson, was a childhood friend and they've known each other since primary school. They've worked together on numerous projects aside from Birds of a Feather, including Shine on Harvey Moon and an advertising campaign for the soap powder Surf. It wasn't until 1996 that Pauline was noticed as a serious drama actress as well as a successful comedy star, when she was given the lead role in the adaptation of the Minette Walters crime novel The Sculptress. Pauline's performance as the convicted murderess Olive Martin earned her a BAFTA nomination. She and her family now live in Islington, London. In the final test, Pauline served Herb chicken in sauce, followed by Soft-centred chocolate cake. Programme sevenRani PriceRani co-presents the BBC's popular entertainment show Best of Friends, now in its third series. A committed vegetarian, Rani was also recently involved in the new BBC Three series called Kill It, Cook It, Eat It investigating the pros and cons of meat eating. In addition, she recently presented the Making Tracks classical concert series for Radio 3. Throughout the last three years Rani has worked on various children's networks including The Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and Five. Rani was born in Liverpool to Indian parents and is the youngest of five children. Her northern accent is immediately recognisable and she has recorded a range of voice-overs, using it to its full potential. She also hopes to one day be the voice of an animated character. In the final test, Rani cooked Baked ricotta cake with roasted cardamom vegetables, followed by Baked amaretto peaches with sweet mascarpone. Craig Revel HorwoodCraig is best known as a judge on all four hit series of BBC's Strictly Come Dancing. A professional choreographer, he has written a book entitled Teach Yourself Ballroom Dancing, published by Hodder. Craig also choreographed the recent hit BBC show How Do you Solve a Problem Like Maria? and is currently staging the dances for the play Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks at the Theatre Royal starring Claire Bloom and Billy Zane. Among Craig's many credits in the West End are resident director on Miss Saigon at the Theatre Royal and choreography for the Shaftesbury Theatre and UK tour productions of Calamity Jane.
 His international career includes choreography work in South Africa, the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria and France. Most recently, Craig created the choreography for Glanzlichter, currently running at the Friedrichstadtpalast in Berlin, Europe's largest revue theatre. He also directed the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Manchester. In the final test, Craig made Grilled duck breast, followed by Chocolate pudding. Phil TufnellPhil is a former England cricketer, having had eight England tours to Australia, the West Indies, New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka and South Africa. He retired from professional cricket before the 2003 season and then began his television career by appearing in the reality television show I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!. He was then a team captain on the sports quiz show They Think It's All Over until 2005. In 2004, he made two guest appearances on Family Affairs and co-presented the game show Simply the Best. His autobiography What Now? was published in 1999. Phil also co-authored a humorous book called Phil Tufnell's' A To Z of Cricket with cricket journalist Adam Hathaway. In the final test, Phil served Wild mushroom bruschetta with rocket, parmesan and truffle oil, followed by Corn-fed chicken with thyme, rosemary and lemon served with parsnip and potato purée, wilted spinach and wholegrain mustard beurre blanc. |
