MasterChef has returned to television screens with the premiere of a new series, filmed prior to the dismissal of hosts Gregg Wallace and John Torode.
The pair were terminated from their roles last month following an investigation into conduct on the cooking program, which substantiated allegations against them.
The BBC elected to proceed with the broadcast of this year’s amateur series, citing a commitment to the participating chefs. However, the decision has faced criticism from women who have come forward with allegations, while former Celebrity MasterChef contestant Kirsty Wark suggested the BBC could have considered refilming the series without the two co-hosts.
Both presenters are featured from the beginning and throughout the episodes, but edits appear to have been made to reduce the inclusion of jokes and casual dialogue between them and the contestants.
The first three episodes were made available on iPlayer on Wednesday morning, with the series opener airing on BBC One at 20:00 BST.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy stated that as a viewer, she “certainly won’t be watching it”, while adding that it was not her role to dictate broadcast decisions.
Wallace will be succeeded by Irish chef Anna Haugh in the concluding episodes of the series, due to the allegations against him, initially reported by BBC News, emerging during filming in November.
In prior seasons, Wallace and Torode maintained a consistent presence throughout each episode.
In the premiere of the new series, they greet the contestants, outline the challenges, interview the chefs during their cooking, announce when “time’s up,” and evaluate the dishes.
However, the frequency of jokes appears to be diminished, and the customary banter between the presenters and chefs seems to have been reduced.
“There’s not really any jokes and chat is kept to a minimum,” TV critic Scott Bryan said of the new episodes.
“John and Gregg are there to explain things to camera, link parts of the programme and review the food, but they’re not there so much for our entertainment.”
His sentiments were echoed by Charlie Beckett, a former programme editor at BBC News and Channel 4 News, who told BBC Radio 5 Live: “If you’ve never seen MasterChef before, you’d just think it’s a pretty ordinary, regular cooking programme. It works perfectly well.
“But there is much less of the banter from the presenters. So it works, but for regular viewers they probably will see that it feels really different.”
The promotional image on iPlayer showcases the trophy rather than the presenters, a departure from recent years.
Six chefs are featured in the first episode, with subsequent episodes set to introduce additional contestants.
Last week, a contestant on the new series of MasterChef reported being edited out after requesting that her appearance not be broadcast.
Sarah Shafi told BBC Newsnight that “in an ideal world, what would have happened is that it would have been axed” out of respect to those people whose complaints were upheld.
Her comments came as the BBC faced mounting pressure to reconsider airing the series.
Broadcast union Bectu stated that misconduct “should not be rewarded with prime-time coverage,” while a prominent women’s rights charity cautioned that many individuals would feel “deeply uncomfortable” seeing the show on television.
Some of the women who have made allegations against Wallace have also expressed to BBC News their disapproval of the series airing, with one describing it as demonstrating “a blatant disregard for the people who have come forward.”
Wark, who informed BBC News last November that Wallace had made “sexualised” jokes during the filming of Celebrity MasterChef in 2011, mentioned that she knew of many women who had requested the BBC not broadcast the new series.
Speaking to the BBC’s Scotcast podcast, she asked: “It could, I suppose, just have gone out on iPlayer, and would that make any difference?”
Not screening it “would have been a terrible shame for all the contestants, but they could have done it all again”, she continued, adding: “I probably won’t be watching.”
The controversy surrounding MasterChef began last year, when BBC News initially reported claims of misconduct against Wallace.
In July, a report by the show’s production company Banijay revealed that 83 complaints had been made against Wallace with more than 40 upheld, including one of unwelcome physical contact and another three of being in a state of undress.
He has insisted he was cleared of “the most serious and sensational allegations”.
In a recent interview with The Sun, he said he was “so sorry” to anyone he hurt, but insisted that he was “not a groper, a sex pest or a flasher”.
The upheld complaint against Torode related to a severely offensive racist term allegedly used on the set of MasterChef in 2018.
The presenter said he had “no recollection” of it and that any racist language is “wholly unacceptable”.
In her interview on Wednesday, the culture secretary weighed in on the scandals involving the presenters, saying: “Like every member of the public, I’m absolutely appalled that that was allowed to happen in plain sight for far too long.”
But she also applauded the BBC for signing up to a new watchdog designed to improve standards in the creative industries.
“I think the BBC has shown leadership on this and I would urge other people to follow suit,” she said.
The BBC previously said it had not been “an easy decision” to run the series, adding that there was “widespread support” among the chefs for it going ahead.
“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,” it 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.”
In a review, the Telegraph’s critic Ed Cumming wrote: “To show how seriously the BBC takes the allegations against the presenters, they have edited out their jokes.” The resulting series “lacks pizzazz”, he said.
The Standard’s Vicky Jessop wrote: “No jokes here – the production team presumably being terrified that anything either of them says would be taken the wrong way.”
The first episode “left a slightly sour taste in the mouth”, she added – a sentiment echoed by the Independent’s Nick Hilton, who wrote that the series is “tinged with a strange, bitter aftertaste”.
Additional reporting by Emmanuella Alausa.
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It comes as a MasterChef contestant says she was edited out after asking for the new series not to be broadcast.