Great British Menu has developed a solid reputation for showing us the best and brightest talents in the industry. We've seen some outstanding chefs come through the competition in years past and go onto stellar things. Once again, we'll get to watch the best of the best compete against each other in a bid to nab those coveted spots at this year's banquet.

Last year, Great British Menu celebrated seventy years of the NHS, and the chefs tapped into some very personal stories in order to bring their food to life. This year's theme is a little more light-hearted – the programme will mark fifty years since The Beatles' last live performance, and the chefs will pay homage to fifty years of British pop music, delivering food to a series of guest judges that includes Martin Kemp from Spandau Ballet, singer-songwriter Amy MacDonald and producer Pete Waterman.

There are a few returning chefs – Liam and Ryan Simpson-Trotman are both back, as are Lorna McNee, Ben Reade, Andrew Sheridan and Sabrina Gidda – but popular chefs like Tom Brown, Ellis Barrie and Selin Kiazim will not be competing this year. A formidable array of veteran chefs return to the series too, including Tom Aikens, Daniel Clifford, Angela Hartnett, Michael O’Hare, Paul Ainsworth, Phil Howard and Richard Corrigan, whilst Tommy Banks makes his debut as a judge.

Read on for the full list of this year's Great British Menu competitors. The series begins on Wednesday 20 March at 8pm.

Ben Marks, Perilla, London

Luke Selby, Hide, London

Paul Walsh, City Social, London