Ian ‘H’ Watkins, the star of Steps, will feature in the next season of Celebrity Masterchef.
In 1997, he joined the dance pop group alongside Lee Latchford-Evans, Claire Richards, Lisa Scott-Lee, and Faye Tozer.
Between 1997 and 2001, the band had two number-one singles in the UK, two number-one albums in the UK, 14 straight top-five singles in the UK, and a string of hits across Europe.
They sold over 20 million albums globally and received a BRIT Award nomination in 1999.
After they formally separated in 2001, Ian temporarily formed the duet H & Claire with his former bandmate before enrolling in a musical theatre school at the Royal Academy of Music.
Since then, he has featured in a number of television series, including Celebrity Big Brother in 2007, Bargain Hunt Famous Finds, The Chase, and Dancing on Ice.
He will now feature in MasterChef’s celebrity spin-off, with radio presenter Edith Bowman and Radio 1Xtra’s Snoochie Shy, who previously appeared on I’m A Celebrity in 2021.
After releasing the sign-ups, a TV insider stated that the series was ‘one of telly’s most valuable assignments’.
‘Hardly anyone turns it down.
‘It’s seen as a real achievement as well as being relatively easy to fit alongside busy schedules.
‘As such, the BBC always attracts an impressive range of names from a broad spectrum of celebrity,’ they added when speaking to The Sun.
The source continued: ‘This trio really demonstrates that there’s someone for all ages and backs up the BBC’s pledge of continually trying to reach the younger audiences.
‘H is great fun and bosses are excited to see how his journey pans out.’
They went on to say that Edith was “such a safe pair of hands,” Snoochie had “great energy,” and everyone was “excited for the new batch of celeb chefs.”
On the last season of the show, Go Compare star Wynne Evans defeated Love Island‘s Luca Bish and Emmerdale actress Amy Walsh to win the competition.
Other former winners include Lisa Snowdon, Greg Rutherford, Kimberly Wyatt, and Lisa Faulkner.
MasterChef is streaming on BBC iPlayer.
Source My Celebrity Life.