Throng

Eamon Sullivan has become Australia’s first Celebrity master chef after out-cooking Kirk Pengilly from INX and Miss Universe Rachel Finch in last night’s finale of Celebrity Masterchef Australia. The finale was watched by just under 1.3 million, and peaked around 1.73 million. While a far cry from the success of the original Masterchef, the finale performed better than the just above 1 million average it maintained during its 10 episode stint on Ten.

In 2010, Ten will air series two of Masterchef Australia set to grace our screens in April. Also on the table for 2010 is a junior version of the cooking show that will see children battle it out to see who will be Australia’s first junior Masterchef. There is, however, no plans for a second celebrity version.

Wednesday November 25 7.30pm

In a two-hour special, the three finalists line up in front of judges Matt Preston, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan and are told they face three rounds of challenges in the Finale. They will accumulate points in each round, the person with the most points after the three challenges will be crowned Celebrity MasterChef.

Tuesday November 24 7.30pm

In Tuesday night's episode, the four remaining contestants face one of the most challenging, intricate, difficult and timeconsuming challenges ever attempted in both Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef Australia Series 1.

If you thought Adriano Zumbo's croquembouche in Series 1 looked gruelling, imagine how the contestants feel when they are told Adriano has especially devised for this challenge an even more complex version - the Chocolate Swirl Croquembouche.

They are given 3.5 hours to tackle this monster challenge and even this doesn't seem long enough for some of the contestants, as they juggle the pressure, the recipe and burns galore.

The judges eliminate one contestant from this episode, leaving us with the three finalists who will take their place in the Finale on Wednesday night.

Wednesday November 18 7.30pm

Tonight the remaining five celebrity contestants are reduced to a quivering mess when they are told they must cook for paying customers at Altitude restaurant, Shangri-La.

Taken out of the comfort zone of the MasterChef Kitchen, the contestants face a whole new plate of challenges in the kitchen of Altitude, which was recently awarded One Chef's Hat by the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide.

Wednesday November 11 7.30pm

The heat is cranked up a notch in the MasterChef kitchen as the six celebrity contestants face the first challenge of the semi-finals. Each contestant proved they had enough skill, knowledge and flair to succeed in their heat, but they now face a new realm of challenges in the semi-finals. The judges, Matt Preston, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan even declare some of these challenges exceed the difficulty rating of those featured in Series 1!

The pressure increases when the contestants are told their first challenge will be a Mystery Box Challenge. Their ingredients include Lamb backstrap, potato, coffee, chocolate, orange and spinach. They will all have just 45 minutes to create a dish using some or all of the ingredients that will impress the judges and win themselves the advantage in their second challenge of the episode, the Invention Test.

For the final week of the ratings year, Ten have a big week lined up with a collection of season finales and Christmas specials - yes - Christmas specials - one month early!

Here is the summary.

1. Sunday Nov 22 6.30pm. Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation Christmas Special. Shaun Micallef is back to find out which generation knows the most about Christmas. Baby Boomers a represented by resident panellist Amada Keller and guest Denise Scott - comedian. Gen X sees Charlie Pickering join forces with Nova radio presenter Dylan Lewis while Gen Y feature Josh Thomas being joined again by Ruby Rose.

Wednesday November 4 7.30pm

The last three contestants line up against each other tonight in the final round of the heats, vying for the coveted last spot in the Semi-Finals.

This week comedian Peter Rowsthorn uses his humour and funny antics to try and distract his fellow competitors; Video Hits host Faustina "Fuzzy" Agolley and musician Alex Lloyd, from perfecting their signature dishes. But all the wit in the world won't help Peter if his cooking isn't up to scratch.

Wednesday October 28 7.30pm

What do a journalist, an AFL Player and Miss Universe Australia contestant have in common? A love of cooking namely, and because of this, they are this week's competitors on Celebrity MasterChef.

George Negus has travelled to the deepest, darkest corners of the world and has tried all sort of weird and wonderful cuisines, however Italian firmly remains his favourite. He believes he has mastered the risotto and has tweaked it to bring his own special touch to it. But will our judges Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan & George Calombaris share his same enthusiasm for his signature risotto dish?

Wednesday October 21 7.30pm

Alex Perry is a fashion designer with an eye for flair and details but does he cook with as much precision as he makes his glorious frocks?

As one of Australia's leading cricketers Simon Katich has exceptional motor skills, but how will he fair juggling time restraints, unknown recipes and two equally determined competitors?

Wednesday October 14 7.30pm

Where can you see one of the fastest swimmer's in the world compete against a state premier and an actor on a level playing field?

This week in Celebrity MasterChef! Eamon Sullivan, Anna Bligh and Simon Westaway dust off their aprons and put their cooking skills to the test in the MasterChef kitchen.

Last night, Wednesday Oct 7, I decided to record the Hey Hey Reunion to watch back later in the night so I could fast forward through any bits I did not want or need to see - such as musical performances or when they tell you what prizes you can win on games like Plucka Duck, and the like.

At our house, we also wanted to see Celebrity Master chef , Border Security, City Homicide and United States of Tara. And that’s not including a few shows on Foxtel that needed to be recorded to watch later as well. This was pretty much the same position as Wednesday Sept 30 where we decided not to record Hey Hey Reunion as it was originally scheduled to air an encore on the Saturday night - which, as we now know, did not happen.

Wednesday October 7 7.30pm

With a glint in their eye, beads of sweat running down their forehead and quiet determination, the next round of celebrity contestants step up to the plate in a bid to out-do each other with their cooking skills.

This week’s contestants are Biggest Loser trainer Michelle Bridges, founding member of Hi-5 Kathleen de Leon and author/journalist Peter Fitzsimons.

Channel Ten Programming for week 43 (Oct 18 - 24)

1. Australian Idol - Sunday 7.30pm: The final 6 perform the biggest hits from the movies and theatre in stage and screen night. Guest judge yet to be announced.

2. Rove - Sunday 9.30pm: Guests this week include Seth Green promoting his animated TV series “Robot Chicken” and Barry Humphries promoting his new book “Handling Edna”.

3. Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader - Monday 7.30pm - Season Finale. Dr Chris Brown playing for the charity Assistance Dogs Australia is the last this year to take on the 5th Graders.

4. Celebrity Master chef - Wednesday 7.30pm: Cooking off this week are fashion guru Alex Perry, cricketer Simon Katich and comedian Wendy Harmer. The Pressure Test challenge will be based around a dish prepared by one of Australia’s favourite cooks, Stephanie Alexander.