Get ready for the real battle of the Soaps. The heat is on, the knives are sharpened and this time, it’s serious.

Take two pairs of soap stars, give them some tasty ingredients, turn up the heat and you have the recipe for a mouthwatering new culinary competition.

Stars from Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and Neighbours will be dusting down their pots and pans and brushing up on their cookery skills as they battle it out to see who is the best chef in TV’s first ever live cookery show.

Presented by Richard Arnold and Nicki Chapman, Soapstar Superchef will follow the stars as they pair up and get down to some serious work in the kitchen.

Each day two pairs of soapstars have to cook the dish of the day and serve up their culinary efforts to a panel of expert judges – and they’d better know their risotto from a ragout and their torte from a tart as they battle it out against each other and the clock – live in front of a studio audience. The pairs appearing in the first week will be given points from the judges and will then return in the third week for another chance to gain more points. A new batch of soapstar pairs will do battle in the second week, and they will return in the fourth week to try and raise the stakes. On the final day the two pairs with the highest points will do battle for the title of Soapstar Superchef.

Which couple will turn out to be ‘top of the pots’? Will the final dishes be haute cuisine or works canteen? Will the soap stars prove they are the chefs of the future or will their sausages shrink and their soufflés sink?

The soap stars battling it out in the ultimate soap cook off include: Anne Charleston (Madge Bishop, Neighbours); Mark Charnock (Marlon Dingle, Emmerdale); Chris Chittell (Eric Pollard, Emmerdale); Malcolm Hebden (Norris Cole, Coronation Street); Clive Hornby (Jack Sugden, Emmerdale); Jennie McAlpine (Fiz Brown, Coronation Street); Blair McDonough (Stuart Parker, Neighbours); Jimmy McKenna (Jack Osbourne, Hollyoaks); Philip Olivier (Adam Tyler, Hollyoaks); Wendi Peters (Cilla Battersby, Coronation Street); Bill Roache (Ken Barlow, Coronation Street); Carly Stenson (Steph Dean, Hollyoaks) and Hayley Tamaddon (Delilah Dingle, Emmerdale).

Soapstar Superchef is the perfect cocktail of competition and fun – the ultimate fish out of water experience for stars more used to settling down to a Hot Pot than making it.

Nicki Chapman said: “I’m really looking forward to working on the show – it’s going to be entertaining and great fun. The soap stars are used to battling it out with the storylines – now they’ll be battling for recipes as well. May the best chef win!”

ITV1 Network Monday 19 March 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM