CARLISLE'S celebrated food critic Grace Dent has made an appearance on the celebrity version of TV's "toughest quiz show".

In a nerve-wracking episode last night, the MasterChef judge sat in the famous black chair as she faced a barrage of tough questions from host John Humphrys to compete for the trophy against Blue Peter presenter Mwaksy, and comedians Joe Pasquale and Robin Ince.

Though she did not win, her appearance raised £3,000 for her chosen cause, Oak Tree Animals Charity at Wetheral Shields.

Dent made a good start with her chosen specialist subject, Edward VI, the Tudor boy king who was crowned at the age of nine but died at 15.

As she approached the famous black chair for her general knowledge round, Dent commented: "It's a very long walk." But she held her nerve, and battled on to achieve a respectable nine points.

Just before her second round of questions, she chatted with Humphrys, describing her Masterchef role as the "greatest" job in TV.

"You get to see Britain's brightest young talents and taste their food," she said, conceding that she usually only eats meat when she goes out for a meal.

"There'll always be rebellious people who want a bacon sandwich," she added.

After the show went out last night, Oaktree posted a thank you message.

It said: "Wow"

"A huge WELL DONE and THANK YOU are in order. Grace Dent competed on Celebrity Mastermind tonight and chose Oak Tree as her charity of choice. Thanks again Grace. The £3,000 generated is fantastic and hugely appreciated."

Last night's winner was Robin Ince, who commented on how daunting it was to face a grilling in the Mastermind spotlight.

"Once you get one thing wrong, I can't hear the words you say!" the told Humphrys.

The episode is available now on BBC iPlayer.