Celebrity Best Home Cook

BBC1, 9pm As we reach the halfway point of the competition, the celebrities are given some unglamorous cooking tasks to prove their worth and hopefully win over judges Mary Berry, Angela Hartnett and Chris Bavin.

First up for Ed Balls, Rachel Johnson, Ed Byrne and the other stars (right), it’s that humble television dinner stand-by – simple burger and chips, with fish and vegetarian options. Then in the next round, a bag of frozen peas is a test of inspiration and improvisational skills – with Thai curry, Vietnamese pho soup and even a partly parmesan-flavoured scone among the results. Finally, there’s a tense showdown with the tricky matter of rustling up cannoli to decide just who’ll be going home.

Claudia Winkleman is the host providing plenty of good-humoured bonhomie and even an occasional shoulder to cry on when the chips are down.