A man accused of killing four men by poisoning them appeared in the background of a Celebrity MasterChef episode in 2014.
Stills taken from an episode of the BBC show appear to show Stephen Port serving pasta and meatballs alongside celebrity contestants including JLS star JB Gill and former EastEnders actress Emma Barton.
Port has been charged with four counts of murder and four counts of administering a poison with intent to endanger life or inflict grievous bodily harm.
The 40-year-old is accused of poisoning four men between June 2014 and September 2015, after contacting them via online dating services.
He appeared at the Old Bailey for a preliminary hearing via video link on Wednesday (October 21), speaking only to confirm his name.
Port, of Cooke Street in Barking, was remanded in custody pending further preliminary hearings.
What to Read Next
A provisional trial date has been set for April 2016.
The Metropolitan Police stepped up their investigations earlier this month after linking the deaths of 23-year-old Anthony Walgate in June 2014, 22-year-old Gabriel Kovari in August 2014, 21-year-old Daniel Whitworth in September 2014 and 25-year-old Jack Taylor in September 2015.
Kate (they/she) is a freelance writer, editor, digital editorial trainer and data technician who first joined Digital Spy as an overnight freelance sub-editor in January 2011, after studying a postgraduate diploma in journalism at Salford University while working part-time as a social researcher.
In July 2013, Kate joined the DS staff team as chief sub-editor and following six years as the site's managing editor, their role expanded to incorporate Hearst UK's entertainment portfolio (including Digital Spy and its sibling titles Best and Inside Soap) between late 2024 and early 2026.
Kate has worked as a writer and editor since 2006, with bylines syndicated across the Hearst network and at organisations including Metro. They started their career as a TV production runner for the BBC and contributed to various music websites, blogs and zines while based in Manchester.
During her time at DS, Kate has previously been a freelance sub-editor and chief sub-editor.
Kate's team at Digital Spy were proudly nominated in the Best Subbing/Production Team category at the BSME Talent Awards 2022. Over the years, she has contributed to coverage of many, many Prime Days and Black Friday/Cyber Monday, and was part of the team that launched the DS weekly TV newsletter in November 2019 – followed by the Top of the Shops e-commerce newsletter in May 2024.
Kate's screen passions include Taskmaster (their biggest career regret remains turning down the opportunity to visit the house), nature documentaries, and live sport (up there with the greatest of all soap operas although if asked to choose, it's Corrie… every time).
Her highlights while working at DS have included interviewing Stevie Nicks on the red carpet for her documentary In Your Dreams, sitting at a press roundtable with Formula 1 commentary icon Murray Walker, watching a life-sized LEGO car being driven around Silverstone, writing an album-by-album retrospective of Lady Gaga's genre-defying career for Living Legends, and raising awareness of receiving and understanding a late-in-life ADHD diagnosis through the lens of Bianca and Freddie's EastEnders storyline.
Upon remembering to log off the internet, Kate enjoys live theatre, dance and comedy, appreciating nature, baking (badly), tending a recently-rented allotment (equally badly) and pampering one very spoiled rescue cat named Jolene.
LinkedIn
