Celebrity MasterChef rumbles on this month, with successive rounds of heats to test out the famous faces in the kitchen.
In the coming week’s episode, Coronation Street fixture Sue Cleaver will be among those trying to impress the judges.
But, according to a new report, the 62-year-old’s stint is set to live up to her surname.
It has been reported that the MasterChef medics had to be called in within the first 30 minutes of her kitchen arrival, after slicing her finger open with an extra-sharp Japanese knife.
The actress, who played Eileen Grimshaw on Corrie from 2000 to 2025 and can these days be found on the Loose Women panel, was said to have been chopping a salad when disaster struck.
Using a Japanese knife her son bought her for her turn on the show, Cleaver sliced through her right index finger, according to a report in The Sun.
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The publication has claimed she said, in the as-yet unaired scenes: ‘Oh, plaster already. I’ve cut myself.
‘It didn’t take long. I nearly cut my finger off and it’s only day one. I’m panicking a bit.’
Giorgio Locatelli, who joined the series as a judge this year alongside Grace Dent, is reported to have told her: ‘That’s a Japanese knife. It’s a very sharp one.’
All was saved by the on-site medics, who reportedly patched Cleaver up so she could carry on.
She will compete against the likes of Melvin Odoom and Una Healy on Celebrity MasterChef on September 1 on BBC One.
Michelin-starred restaurateur Locatelli joined food critic Dent for series 21, having featured as a judge on MasterChef Italia since 2018. Dent described him as a ‘fabulous addition’, having been a long-time admirer of his work.
When he was confirmed for the series, he said: ‘Hosting Celebrity MasterChef alongside Grace is a real honour. I can’t wait for you to see what our celebrity contestants bring to the kitchen, as we are really putting their culinary skills to the test in this series.’
The 2026 batch of celebrities will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner Ginger Johnson, who took home the coveted gong for the 20th series.
Metro contacted the BBC to confirm this story.