Last night we saw the first episode of the 2012 series of Masterchef. The show has come a long way since its beginnings at the hands of eighties presenter Loyd Grossman.

As is clear from looking at our TV schedules these days, the British public love nothing more than a reality TV contest.

And Masterchef is one of the most long-standing.

The problem with all long-standing competitions, as this year’s X Factor ratings showed , is that formats can go stale.

“Cooking doesn’t get tougher than this”, says Gregg at the start of the show.

But is this now an iconic catchphrase? Or just ridiculous?

Would it be madness to mess with a winning formula? Or does the show need freshening up?

The one thing that has been ditched in year’s competition is the audition stage.

TV bosses have come out in the media claiming they have axed this section due to complaints from viewers criticising the show for emulating others.

However – like the early X Factor auditions – there was something singularly enjoyable about this stage that has now been banished from the contest – not least giving the audience the chance to start to warm to contestants. (And of course the crazy people that couldn’t cook).

This year, a total of 24 contestants were chosen through blind tastings and, over the next three nights, groups of eight will battle to be included in the final 12. Other than that? Not much seems to have changed.

An invention test, followed by a shift in a professional kitchen, followed by cook off, the tests themselves are the same as in previous years

It is difficult to say after the first show, much will depend on the way the series goes. But there have been other small changes.

The design of the studio has been subtly changed and seems to have taken a leaf from the book of Australian Masterchef (showing on Watch last year) with its balcony and colourful display of fresh produce for contestants to choose from.

And now to the contestants themselves.

Where the UK Masterchef does differ from shows such as the X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent is in the blessed lack of sob stories from contestants. These people are ambitious and not ashamed to talk about it.

Early favourites are plasterer Tom – whose food was described as ‘heartstopping’ (in a good way) by judges – and quantum physics student Aki, whose classic Japanese cuisine was the undisputed triumph of last night’s show.

As for the rejects, the writing was on the wall for Christine straight away. She chose ‘the plaice’ for her invention dish, which was in fact sole – which does make you question the calibre of the short list.

Even after eight series I am still quite unsure as to how John Torode and Gregg Wallace were put together.

They have almost become a parody of themselves – and the camp factor seems to be ramped up a gear every series.

That said, they are synonymous with the Masterchef brand, and the roaring Torode shown at the end of last night’s episode made me laugh out loud.

And that alone is enough to make me tune in again tonight.

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