Luton cooking maestro Louisa Ellis returns to MasterChef for festive knockout!

Cooking maestro Louisa Ellis, 25, will make her return to the famous kitchen on BBC One at 8pm, after first competing on the show in 2017 when she made it to the final.

Four chefs lauded as "some of the most memorable" in MasterChef's history have been invited back to demonstrate how their cooking skills have changed over the years.

Louisa will face off against 2014 finalist Danny Parker, 2009 finalist Marianne Lumb and 2018 semi-finalist William Chilila.

Chef Louisa was born and bred in Luton, and her family still live in the town.

She said: "I went to Ashcroft High School followed by Barnfield College for my studies. I was never top of the class but I've managed to successfully make a career and a business of my own from doing things out of my comfort zone, such as entering MasterChef in 2017 and making it to the finals!"

Louisa now lives in Nottinghamshire and had been working as a private chef and cooking at pop-event events before the pandemic.

In tonight's festive special, the chefs will face the ultimate bubble 'n' squeak challenge as they prepare Christmas leftovers in the skills test.

They must also wow judges Marcus Wareing, Monica Galetti and Gregg Wallace with a seasonal two-course menu that shows off their culinary style, technical skills, creativity and understanding of flavour.

Tune in to see how Louisa fares!