A second contestant asked to be edited out of the current season of the BBC‘s MasterChef.
This follows another contestant, Sarah Shafi, saying they were edited out of season of the British show after complaining about fired hosts Gregg Wallace and John Torode. BBC News was first with a report on the second contestant exiting.
“One other contributor decided that given recent events they would like not to be included,” said a spokeswoman for Banijay UK, which makes the series through subsidiary Shine TV. “We have of course accepted their wishes and edited them out of the show.”
It is understood the individual has asked not to be identified and that producers are respecting those wishes.
Wallace and Torode were both axed from the long-running culinary competition show after an investigation that looked into the former’s on-set behavior. Some 83 complaints were made against Wallace, with more than half upheld, including one of unwelcome physical contact, while Torode was dragged into the firing line after the investigation upheld a claim he had used a racist term back in 2018.
Wallace, who has autism, has consistently played down the severity of his alleged actions and engaged a lawyer to support his assertion he is the victim of disability discrimination. He recently told The Sun newspaper he was “so sorry” for upsetting people, but insisted he was “not a groper, a sex pest or a flasher.”
Torode has said he has “no recollection” of the incident in which he was alleged to have used a severely racist term and called its use “wholly unacceptable.”
The BBC has come under severe fire for broadcasting the season, which launched following the hosts’ sacking. The UK public broadcaster claimed it had the support of the amateur chefs who compete on the show.
“In showing the series, which was filmed last year, it in no way diminishes our view of the seriousness of the upheld findings against both presenters,” the broadcaster has said. “However, we believe that broadcasting this series is the right thing to do for these cooks who have given so much to the process. We want them to be properly recognised and give the audience the choice to watch the series.”
The new season began earlier this month, but has been heavily edited. Many of the jokes and trademark banter between Torode, Wallace and the contestants has been removed, leaving a more sterile production behind. Irish chef Anna Hughes will replace Wallace in later episodes of the season. Having been filmed in November last year, Wallace was stood down as allegations came to light.
Shine TV makes the show alongside Ziji Productions, the production house of MasterChef creator Franc Roddam, who recently told Deadline he was “saddened” by the misconduct storm “because it’s a wonderful show and it’s brought tremendous pleasure to lots of people.”
