The first series of the Australian cooking game show Celebrity MasterChef Australia began production in early September 2009, and premiered on Network Ten on 30 September 2009. Matt Preston, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan returned as judges for the show; however Sarah Wilson did not reprise her role as host from the first season of MasterChef Australia.
Former world-record holder & Olympic medalist Eamon Sullivan won the series, taking home $50,000 for charity Swim Survive Stay Alive.
Celebrity MasterChef Australia series 1 featured 18 celebrities as contestants. Network Ten officially revealed the first batch on the 3 September 2009 episode of The 7pm Project. However, several contestants were revealed before Ten's official announcement of their participation.
The contestants included:
Ten initially announced that actor Steve Bisley would also be a participant, but he later withdrew from the show. The network cited a scheduling conflict for his departure, though the ABC claimed that Ten used it as an excuse; the announcement of his participation on the show was the same day the actor was charged with assaulting his ex-wife Sally Burleigh during an argument between the former couple. Rachael Finch previously auditioned for the first series of MasterChef Australia, but did not make past the initial rounds.