NBC to premiere new 'Celebrity Cooking Showdown' series on April 17

NBC is fast-tracking a celebrity cooking competition being executive produced by rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs and Ben "The Biggest Loser" Silverman.

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The week-long "Celebrity Cooking Showdown" combines elements of "Iron Chef America" with "Dancing With the Stars," Daily Variety reported.

The show will pair superstar chefs with yet-to-be announced celebrities in a cooking competition starting April 17.

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"We've been desperate to do cooking in primetime," Silverman told Variety. "And who's more primetime than Diddy?"

Combs, who owns two restaurants, said cooking is "not out of my space."

"The sexiest trend going on right now is young men learning how to cook," Combs said. "There's nothing more sensual than a man cooking for his woman. We wanted to do something that fit that trend in the marketplace." From a production point of view, a food competition also offers plenty of potential drama."