Lauren Steadman wins Celebrity MasterChef
Lauren Steadman has won the latest series of Celebrity MasterChef.
Lauren Steadman has been crowned the Celebrity MasterChef champion.
The 33-year-old Paralympian has won the latest series after overcoming stiff competition from Olympic medallist Emily Campbell, and TV personality Shakira Khan.
After the result was announced, Lauren described the accolade as "really special, literally up there with a Paralympic gold medal".
Grace Dent, the MasterChef co-presenter, was effusive in her praise of Lauren's efforts.
She explained: "Throughout this competition, Lauren has cooked at an exquisite level. And today, quite simply, she served some really, really wonderful food."
Giorgio Locatelli, Grace's co-host, was similarly positive about Lauren's efforts.
Giorgio said: "She seems to turn everything to an advantage. And that, for me, is why she is our Celebrity MasterChef champion."
Shakira, meanwhile, poked fun at her status as a perennial runner-up, having previously fallen short of success on Love Island.
She quipped: "Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.
"I'm first runner-up loser, again. But it's been a wonderful experience and I've had a ball.
"Gold medal performance from Lauren. Well done, my girl. Very proud of her."
Lauren previously opened up about her decision to join Celebrity MasterChef, revealing that she revelled in the challenge.
She told the BBC: "I can compete in sports to a very high level and handle the pressure, I love to challenge myself and constantly learn new things. Being on Celebrity MasterChef would push my boundaries and hopefully give me the confidence that I can cook!
"It’s very different cooking for loved ones to stepping up and having the food critically analysed. It is also a show I have watched many times and enjoyed seeing how people craft their interpretation of food and flavours – it’s very individual and I like that. Also, quite risky as it could go very wrong!"
Lauren described herself as an "intuitive cook".
Asked to describe her cooking style, Lauren replied: "If something goes wrong, I’ll improvise and turn it into something else! I once added way too many stock cubes into a soup so made it into a pasta sauce.
"I’m an intuitive cook, good at just opening the fridge and saying, ‘what are we going to cook?’. I'm also a taster and free-baller, I hardly measure things!"
