BBC MasterChef judge Anna Haugh has spoken candidly about her new role, confessing that "nothing prepared me".

The popular cooking programme is set to make a return to our television screens once again with a brand new series in just a matter of days. However, this year, viewers will notice a significant shake-up.

Anna and Grace Dent have stepped into presenting duties, replacing the axed judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode.

Anna, a familiar face and a judge on the 2022 professionals series, stepped in for Wallace during the closing episodes of the most recent season. Meanwhile, Grace joined John on the latest series of Celebrity MasterChef, which aired towards the end of last year.

Ahead of the forthcoming series, the new presenting pair appeared on Monday's (April 13) episode of BBC's The One Show, giving viewers a glimpse of what lies in store, reports The Mirror.

Speaking to hosts Alex Jones and Roman Kemp, Anna reflected on her new presenting role, admitting: "Honestly, nothing prepared me for how I was gonna feel on this show."

She went on to say: "You know, being a professional chef, I thought these will be amateurs, they will cook and it'll be, you know, good but my goodness, some of them cook as if they're professional chefs.

"But what you really see in the show is that this means something to them -this matters. This could be life changing and as long as they keep pushing themselves, they'll fulfil their potential."

The TV chef continued: "There was a real responsibility from Grace and I, where we agreed that we were like, We got to look for the best in them. We want to find a champion. My goodness there could have been 10 champions in there. It's a brilliant, brilliant bunch of people."

Alex was eager to uncover the dynamic between the pair as they embrace their new presenting roles. She enquired: "You've both been part of the MasterChef family for some time and between you, you have judged the pros and all sorts.

"But now you're together to judge the amateur in the big one. Who is a good cop, who is a bad cop - is there that dynamic at all?"

Grace conceded: "I wish it was as simple as that because then we could just agree at the beginning of the show. I would say, the camera is on us for such a long time, for such long days. I think you see every side of us.

"You see good cop, bad cop, sad cop, hungry cop, tired cop. It is reality TV in a sense, because they're filming us so much that you can't play a part. You get the real contestants, and you get the real us. We have no idea how we're edited. This is us."

Anna interjected: "And we don't always agree, that's just the way it is." Grace echoed: "We really don't."

MasterChef is set to return on 21 April at 9pm on BBC One. The One Show airs weekdays from 7pm on BBC and iPlayer.