Mr. Phil King reports

CTV CELEBRATES THE SEASON WITH MASTERCHEF CANADA: A HOLIDAY SPECIAL, DECEMBER 15

The holidays are set to take over the Masterchef Canada kitchen in Masterchef Canada: a Holiday Special, premiering Monday, Dec. 15, at 8 p.m. Eastern Time/Pacific Time on BCE Inc.'s CTV, and also available live and on demand on the CTV website and CTV Go. Debuting as part of CTV's holiday lineup, the two-hour special welcomes four Season 1 home cooks back to the Masterchef Canada kitchen where they cook up a series of festive dishes with their families -- serving up holiday favourites inspired by their diverse traditions and cultures. Featuring acclaimed judges Michael Bonacini, Alvin Leung and Claudio Aprile, the special is a first for the format internationally and was created in collaboration with Proper Television and Shine International. Masterchef Canada: a Holiday Special is a complementary spinoff of Masterchef Canada, which returns to CTV with its highly anticipated second season in winter 2015.

Averaging 1.8 million viewers in its inaugural season, Masterchef Canada became the most-watched Canadian series in the country for the 2013/2014 broadcast season, and is the first and only homegrown series in more than a decade to land in the top 10 list for ages 25 to 54 and ages 18 to 49.

Masterchef Canada: a Holiday Special features four Season 1 home cooks: fun-loving Albertan Dora Cote; spicy Trinidadian twin and runner-up Marida Mohammed; loveable Italian dad Pino DiCerbo; and larger-than-life flavour queen Tammara Behl -- who are all joined by their families for the chance to win $10,000 for the charity of their choice. Masterchef Canada: a Holiday Special will also air on Thursday, Dec. 25, at 8 p.m. ET on M3, as part of a monster three-day Masterchef marathon beginning Wednesday, Dec. 24, that will include complete airings of the most recent seasons of Masterchef and Masterchef Junior.

"Canadians truly embraced the first season of Masterchef Canada, and we've responded with this festive take on the Masterchef franchise," said Phil King, president -- CTV, sports and entertainment programming. "Joining CTV's popular holiday lineup, and promising to satiate fans in advance of the Masterchef Canada Season 2 premiere early next year, Masterchef Canada: a Holiday Special is sure to be enjoyed by the entire family."

CTV also announced today that Kraft Canada and Ontario Tourism have signed on as sponsors of the first-ever Masterchef Canada: a Holiday Special. As part of the sponsorship, Kraft Peanut Butter is integrated into a holiday baking challenge tackled by the home cooks, and Ontario Tourism is airing custom creative during commercial breaks in the broadcast on CTV.

Masterchef Canada: a Holiday Special features the returning home cooks and their families as they participate in a mystery box potluck challenge, a seasonal skills race, a tag-team bake-off and a final festive feast, where the final two families go head to head with an elevated version of their favourite holiday meal.

Meet the Masterchef Canada: a Holiday Special families

Team Dora (blue apron)

Who:  Dora Cote, Masterchef Canada Season 1, top 11

Currently resides:   Rocky Mountain House, Alta.

Family members:  Dora's son Devyn, her cousins Lisa and Jeff, and her mom Deb

Charity of choice:   Canadian Diabetes Association

Team Marida (red apron)

Who:  Marida Mohammed, Masterchef Canada Season 1, top 2

Currently resides:  Toronto

Family members:  Marida's daughter Myla, her twin sister Narida, her nephew Jonny, her brother Fareed and her aunt Joyce

Charity of choice:  Daily Bread Food Bank

Team Pino (green apron)

Who:  Pino DiCerbo, Masterchef Canada Season 1, top 6

Currently resides:  Mississauga

Family members:  Pino's wife Anna, his sons Adam and David, his sister Ange, his niece Samantha, and his mother Filomena

Charity of choice:   Brandan's Eye Research Foundation

Team Tammara (yellow apron)

Who:  Tammara Behl, Masterchef Canada Season 1, top 4

Currently resides:  Calgary

Family members:  Tammara's husband Rick, her daughters Breannah and Abby, her brother Dave, her godson Ee-han, and her aunt Tippy

Charity of choice:  Canadian Mental Health Association

Viewers can also visit the CTV website in the coming weeks for seasonal recipes from the judges, as well as videos of the judges recounting their holiday memories. In addition, the CTV website will feature in-depth interviews with each of the home cooks, plus photos and exclusive interviews with the winning family.

Masterchef is represented internationally by Shine International, the sales and distribution arm of the Shine Group. The show was originally revived as Masterchef Goes Large in 2005 by Shine TV in the United Kingdom and is based on a format originally created by Franc Roddam.

Masterchef Canada: a Holiday Special is produced by Proper Television in association with CTV. President of Proper Television, Guy O'Sullivan, is executive producer, along with Proper's vice-president and creative director, Cathie James. Shine America's Paul Franklin is creative consultant. For Bell Media, Tina Apostolopoulos is production executive, factual and reality, independent production. Robin Johnston is director, factual and reality, independent production. Corrie Coe is senior vice-president, independent production. Mike Cosentino is senior vice-president, programming, CTV Networks. Phil King is president, CTV, sports, and entertainment programming.