ANNE BURRELL AND RACHAEL RAY RETURN TO TRANSFORM CELEBRITY COOKING DISASTERS INTO CULINARY MASTERS IN BRAND-NEW SEASON OF "WORST COOKS IN AMERICA: CELEBRITY EDITION"

Eight-Episode Series Premieres Wednesday, August 23rd at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network

NEW YORK - July 21, 2017 - Food icons Anne Burrell and Rachael Ray return to lead a star-studded culinary boot camp for cooking-challenged celebrities this summer with a brand-new season of Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition, premiering Wednesday, August 23rd at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network. Anne and Rachael each lead a team of recruits through the intense kitchen challenges, but only the most improved star wins a $25,000 grand prize for the charity of their choice and bragging rights for their team master. The new celebrity recruits are: Nora Dunn, Carmen Electra, Erik Estrada, Vivica A. Fox, Perez Hilton, Carson Kressley, Sean Lowe and Melissa Peterman.

"Anne and Rachael have their culinary work cut out for them with this batch of celebrity recruits - and the results are high-energy and hilarious," said Courtney White, Senior Vice President, Programming Scripps Networks Interactive. "These stars enter boot camp with less-than-impressive cooking skills and watching them gain confidence in the kitchen is remarkable."

In the first episode, Anne and Rachael kick things off with a social media-inspired challenge. The celebrities must make a dish inspired by their tastiest food snaps on social media and judging from their pages online, these stars love a good meal but clearly do not know how to cook one. The mentors follow with a lobster lesson, which proves to be a disaster for some of these clueless cooks. Anne and Rachael then choose their teams, and the culinary training begins. Upcoming episodes feature international flavors, dessert-themed milkshake and cupcake challenges and the return of trivia game Family Food, this time with a "freaky food" twist. The most-improved celebrity cook is awarded a $25,000 grand prize for the charity of their choice in the season finale on Wednesday, October 11th at 9pm ET/PT.

Viewers can learn more about the famous faces competing for kitchen glory at FoodNetwork.com/WorstCooks and watch video highlights, see photos from the challenges and take quizzes to improve their own cooking. Tell us who your favorite celeb is on social media using the hashtag #WorstCooks.

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