MasterChef Contestant Confirms Why She Has Been Edited Out Of This Year's Series

Former MasterChef hosts John Torode and Gregg WallaceA contestant who took part in the upcoming season of MasterChef has been edited out of the finished show, the BBC has confirmed.Sarah Shafi told The Guardian that she filmed her appearance on the BBC amateur cooking show last year, before the external investigation relating to former host Gregg Wallace got underway.Following the news that both Gregg and his co-presenter John Torode had been dropped from the show, Sarah told the UK news outlet that she’d urged the BBC not to air the season at all.“Prominent figures have been abusing their power. What message does that send out to women?” she reasoned.The BBC then presented the potential “solution” to her that they air the season while leaving her out of the finished edit.“I was flabbergasted, because in what way was that a solution – and a solution for whom?” she admitted.“My point was not about me not being associated with it. My point was about the institutional enabling environment. I said I am completely against this airing of the show. I object to it strongly. This is the principle I’m standing by. I’m objecting to the show being aired, not about me being in it.”MasterChef contestant edited out after asking for new series not to be broadcast— The Guardian (@theguardian.com)2025-07-31T06:03:07ZHowever, when the BBC made it clear that the season would be aired despite the controversy surrounding its outgoing hosts, Sarah relented and said she would be edited out.She said: “For me, it’s about the enabling environment. It’s that complicity.“Those individual powerful men do not [act] in isolation. There is an enabling environment, turning a blind eye … It’s about years of these institutions not being accountable.”Gregg was dropped as host of MasterChef after almost 20 years when an independent report substantiated 45 allegations made against him, including the use of sexual language and one case of unwanted physical contact.He has since apologised for “any distress caused”, while also pointing out that the investigation cleared him of what he described as “the most serious and sensational accusations”.John was later dropped after a complaint about his use of alleged racist language was upheld, though he has insisted he has “no recollection of what I’m accused of”.A BBC spokesperson told HuffPost UK: “As we said when we announced the show would be aired, this was not an easy decision in the circumstances and we appreciate not everyone would agree with it.“[Banijay, the production company behind MasterChef] consulted with all the contestants before that decision was made and there was widespread support for it going ahead. We are sorry that this contestant does not support the decision and we are grateful she raised this with both the BBC and Banijay.”The forthcoming season of MasterChef was filmed towards the end of last year, with John appearing in every episode, and Gregg appearing in all but the finale, at which point he took a leave of absence while the investigation got underway.READ MORE:Gregg Wallace Breaks Silence After More Than Half Of Masterchef Allegations UpheldGregg Wallace Is Fired From MasterChef – Here's The Full Story Of His Controversial Exit So FarSir Rod Stewart Accuses 'Bully' Gregg Wallace Of 'Humiliating' His Wife On Celebrity MasterChef

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