Ginger Johnson has been crowned Celebrity MasterChef Champion 2025, becoming the 20th person to claim the dazzling and coveted trophy on BBC One and BBC iPlayer’s celebrity cooking competition.
Outperforming 14 other celebrities in the kitchen, drag artist Ginger was awarded the title after five exhilarating weeks of the culinary competition, culminating in a thrilling cook-off against her fellow finalists, rugby legend Alun Wyn Jones and author and broadcaster, Dawn O’Porter.
MasterChef judges Grace Dent and John Torode presided over the competition and – in a final full of incredible food from all the cooks – had the considerable task of crowning the celebrity who had earned the Celebrity MasterChef trophy.
Reacting to her win, Ginger said: “I cannot believe this, I’m so shocked. I really thought I was going to come here and have a laugh. I can’t believe this is the end result of the competition. It’s absolutely crazy! I can’t wait to tell my mum and dad. I’ve actually learned a real-life skill!”
Grace Dent added: “Throughout this entire competition Ginger has delivered these intriguing, inventive, exciting, imaginative, difficult feats. What’s she’s done is something really impressive.”
John Torode said: “With all the presentation, all the fun, the laughs, her food tastes delicious and she’s an extraordinary cook. For me, that’s why she is our champion.”
Finals Week saw Ginger take on challenges that demanded food on a completely different level. The first episode included the Final Five (with Alfie Boe and Jamie Lomas) delivering a celebratory afternoon tea at British pottery Wedgwood for special guests including the Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent – and working under the guidance of one of the world’s leading pastry chefs, Cherish Finden. Other Finals Week challenges included the Final Four (with Alfie Boe) dedicating an outstanding dish to someone special and, once through to the Final Three, they faced the daunting Chef’s Table at The Boat Inn, Lichfield – a three-rosette restaurant led by chef patron Liam Dillon. The celebrities cooked for diners with five Michelin stars between them – leading chefs Lisa Goodwin-Allen, Sat Bains, Paul Ainsworth, Chet Sharma, David Taylor, and Chantelle Nicholson.
In tonight’s final episode, the celebrities were tasked with delivering their very best food to date. With three hours to create a three-course meal reflecting how far they had come and bringing everything from their MasterChef experience to the table, this was their final chance to wow the judges into choosing them as champion.
Talking about her menu ahead of the cook, Ginger said: “This is showtime for me. The dinner table is a stage today and I’m going to try and make the most fun, exciting, humorous food that I can. I’m cooking the ultimate, contemporary 1970s dinner party. Surprise, surprise, I love the art, the fashion, the music and the culture.”
Ginger’s winning menu, started with a Bloody Mary prawn cocktail – prawns in a tomato, chilli and vodka sauce, with diced cucumber and Worcestershire jelly cubes, garnished with roasted prawn heads, lettuce, celery and an olive, with celery-salted crisps and a mayonnaise. John reacted with: “This is showstopping, absolute brilliance. I adore it.”
Ginger’s main was her take on Duck a l’Orange – a duck leg and vegetable pie with an orange and red wine gravy, served with smoked garlic Hasselback potatoes, purple carrot and charred baby romanesco and kale.
The menu finished with a dessert of Flaming Baked Alaska – Swiss meringue covering a sponge base, caramelised pineapple ring, glacé cherry and a vanilla and cherry ice cream – all soaked and covered in rhum.
After the tasting of the menu, Grace told Ginger: “You’ve always put on a show and made us laugh, but at the root of it there is a serious cook. There’s never been a point when you haven’t tried take things and twist them to another level to impress us and excite us.”
Ginger lives with her partner Vyv and their two cats and is originally from a small village in County Durham. After getting into drag performance at university, Ginger says her career as a drag artist snowballed from there, leading to her winning BBC Three’s RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Series 5 in 2023. She credits being Ginger the performer as her expressive outlet: “I’m actually quite a shy person so Ginger gives me an opportunity to let out a wilder side of myself that doesn’t really exist for me in my regular get up.”
On food influences, Ginger said: “I have always been a big eater. My mum would do the weeknight dinners and on a Saturday my dad would try something a bit special. That definitely inspired me to try lots of different things. So, I’ve always had a real passion for eating, and now, for cooking.”
On the MasterChef experience, Ginger said “Being part of this competition has pushed me to be adventurous – trying to bring the creativity that I find in the rest of my life into food. I’ve caught the bug for the food and the competition.”
Ginger follows in the footsteps of previous winners: Vito Coppola, Wynne Evans, Lisa Snowdon, Kadeena Cox MBE, Riyadh Khalaf, Greg Rutherford, John Partridge, Angellica Bell, Alexis Conran, Kimberly Wyatt, Sophie Thompson, Ade Edmondson, Emma Kennedy, Phil Vickery, Lisa Faulkner, Jayne Middlemiss, Liz McClarnon, Nadia Sawalha and Matt Dawson.
masterchef@plankpr.com