What’s Cookin’? Irish Chef Donal Skehan Lands MasterChef Role on BBC

Irish chef Donal Skehan is the new judge on Junior MasterChef UK, which will air on CBBC later this year.

The popular cook made the announcement on his website today.

"I am so excited to finally announce the big news that I am the brand new Junior MasterChef UK judge! 

"We spent all of August recording the show in London and I had an absolute blast. The whole crew were incredible to work with, including that old softy John Torode! 

"However, the true stars of the show are the young cooks who took part. They never stopped surprising us with their talents and really made the show even more fun to work on!"

Donal Skehan pictured with his MasterChef co-presenter John Torode

Speaking of Donal, creative director of MasterChef Karen Ross said: "Donal's energy, enthusiasm, humour and absolute passion for what he cooks and eats made him a natural choice for our Junior Judge. 

"The fact that he and John Torode also hit it off immediately with a shared love of food and an instant cheeky banter is a bonus. We are extremely excited to have him onboard,” she said.

The new season will feature cooks between the ages of nine and 12 who will race to be crowned Junior MasterChef 2012.

We can’t wait for the new season, mostly because it amazes us that 10 year olds can knock up a better dinner than us.

But we guess we’ll be tuning in for Donal too!