Gay Steps legend Ian ‘H’ Watkins explains big career move: ‘I wanted a challenge’

Ian Watkins, more affectionately known as H from Steps, is all set to take part in the new series of BBC cooking series Celebrity MasterChef.

Watkins, who makes up one-fifth of the gloriously camp British pop group, will be hoping to avoid a kitchen “Tragedy” when he is asked to whip up two dinner-party dishes that would win over famished guests. It begs the question: what would Lisa Scott-Lee and Claire Richards make a beeline for at a party buffet?

The singer will be competing in the first week of heats with four other celebrities, and hoping to earn a place in the quarter final in week five. Watkins will be feeling the heat alongside Geordie Shore star Charlotte Crosby, radio presenters Edith Bowman and Snoochie Shy, and This Morning‘s Craig Doyle. 

A total of 20 celebrities will compete for a place in the quarter-finals.

They say not to reinvent the wheel, so Watkins would be wise to make a dish reminiscent of his pop career: cheesy yet undeniably moreish. 

Speaking to the BBC about why he was temporarily swapping pop music for working a pestle and mortar, Watkins said: “I wanted a challenge to sink my teeth into. I am known by my friends and family for not being able to cook up until this point!

“When it comes to cooking, I’d say that I’m an expert with the air fryer and the microwave, so I wanted to take on Celebrity MasterChef to develop a skill that I could involve my children and family with going forward.”

Despite having performed for royalty, Watkins revealed that throwing some grub together was going to be one of the biggest challenges he’s faced ever faced.

“Intimidating to say the least,” he said. “I’m used to performing in the O2 arena, put me on a stage and I can do that with my eyes closed. Ask me to boil an egg in front of [judges] John [Torode] and Gregg [Wallace] and I fall to pieces.”

H from Steps is a certified gay legend

Watkins came out publicly as gay in 2007, as he prepared to enter the Celebrity Big Brother house.

While Steps have already solidified themselves as a favourite with LGBTQ+ people, thanks to gold-certified hits including “One For Sorrow” and “Stomp”, Watkins’ coming out reaffirmed the band’s connection to the community.

He revealed that the other members of Steps had known about his sexuality for a while, but he felt pressured into staying silent. And one in particular often helped him deflect intrusive questions from the media.

“When we did interviews with magazines like Smash Hits and TV Hits, I would always get asked questions about girlfriends and who I fancied,” he told PinkNews in 2017. “That was when Lisa [Scott-Lee] would dive in and have my back. She would chip in and take the attention away from me.

“I felt massive pressure to keep my sexuality a secret but I was not alone.”

Watkins has since spoken out in support of the trans community, and revealed that Steps once turned down a gig in Dubai because of the United Arab Emirates’ strict anti-LGBTQ+ laws.

Celebrity MasterChef begins on BBC1 at 8pm on Tuesday (13 August) and on BBC iPlayer.