Celebrity MasterChef final 2023: Wynne Evans crowned the CHAMPION

Wynne Evans has been crowned the 2023 Celebrity MasterChef winner.

The opera singer and broadcaster, 51, beat fellow finalists Luca Bish and Amy Walsh after impressing judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace with his adventurous menu. 

The final trio were tasked with cooking a faultless three-course meal in two hours for the judges in a last-ditch effort to be named the 18th Celebrity MasterChef champion.

And Wynne proved he had what it took to come out on top after rustling up a fantastic feast featuring a Japanese-inspired tuna tartare and cannon of lamb. 

Reacting to his win, Wynne said: ‘This is a brilliant feeling. The kids will love this, they’ll be like “Dad! I can’t believe you did it when all you cook for us is beans on toast!”.

‘The experience has totally changed my life. It has just been beautiful and I can’t thank Gregg and John and everybody here at MasterChef enough. 

‘When you start to believe in yourself, that’s when good things start to happen. I don’t know how a MasterChef winner celebrates but I know how a bloke from Carmarthen celebrates!’

In typical Wynne style, the entertainer celebrated his win by balancing the trophy on his head and bursting into song.  

And viewers at home were equally chuffed with Wynne’s win as they soon took to Twitter to share their reactions over his triumph.

One person shared: ‘Massive congratulations to Wynne, what a lovely man he is and a fabulous cook, a well deserved winner.’

A second tweeted: ‘Fantastic! Very well deserved. Thoroughly lovely bloke and some fantastic dishes!’

‘Absolutely amazing win, @wynneevans!! You’ve done yourself and Wales proud! It all looks so lush. Da iawn!’ shared an excited third fan.

‘Reckon the BBC should get @wynneevans doing a cooking show while he sings. It’s quite superb’ wrote a fourth watcher. 

‘It’s a win for Wynne! Congratulations @wynneevans #CelebrityMasterChef champion. Well deserved’ remarked a fifth.

With another adding: ‘The Absolutely FAB-U-LOUS @wynneevans wins #CelebrityMasterChef so well deserved. Best celebrity ’Wynner’ ever by a country mile.’

After six gruelling weeks in which he beat off stiff competition from several aspiring cooks, Wynne saved his best for last as he whipped up a menu which initially had Gregg unsure of his unusual combination.

The star of the Go Compare adverts cooked up a starter of Carmarthen-Japanese sumo tuna tartare with avocado, edamame beans and wasabi, served with deep-fried cockle popcorn and a mango egg. 

This was then followed by a main of bread of Evans cannon of lamb, served on samphire with wild garlic, porcini mushrooms and lamb rendered fried bread, with pomme dauphine and a fondant leek, finished with a red wine and red currant jus.

Finally for dessert, the Welshman served Bara Brith with Caerphilly cheese and fig jam, served with brie ice cream on crumbled Bara Brith and poached figs. 

Gregg Wallace said of the win: ‘Wynne gives us theatre. I have never seen a celebrity like him ever before and I’m not sure we ever will again.’

While John Torode added: ‘Every single dish tells a story. His food, it’s exciting, it’s ambitious, and it’s got a little bit of artistic flare. He’s a proud Welshman with a big heart.’

Meanwhile, Love Island’s Luca had nothing but kind words after losing to Wynne in the final, stating: ‘To be in the final, I don’t think I can have any disappointment. It’s been a great experience but today the best person won.’

While Emmerdale actress Amy said: ‘I did the best I can do. I can now sleep and not wake up thinking about mango chutney!’

Speaking ahead of the big final, Wynne joked his biggest challenge in the kitchen was keeping his appearance on the show a secret. 

‘That’s really the biggest challenge because I’ve gotten a notoriously big mouth!’ before going on to say: ‘The biggest challenge I suppose was just focusing on your own stuff, and trying not to get thrown by what other people did’. 

The radio DJ said his time on the show had totally turned around his talents in the kitchen and he no longer recognised the dishes he managed to make when watching the series back. 

He said: ‘Now though, everybody’s too scared to cook around me because they all think I’m some kind of expert’. 

‘Which is quite nice actually, because you walk into a restaurant now and get the best table!’.