TV fans officially lost it during Thursday’s episode of MasterChef after spotting some unusual editing during a sequence involving Gregg Wallace.
The TV presenter, 60, has been caught up in a major scandal in the last 12 months that resulted in both him and co-host John Torode, also 60, being removed as presenters from the cooking competition.
Several complaints of inappropriate behaviour against Wallace were upheld, though Wallace denied the most serious accusations against him.
Torode was found to have used a racial slur during a staff party in 2018 but insisted that he had ‘no recollection’ of the incident ever taking place.
Despite their removal from future seasons of MasterChef, the BBC pledged that it would broadcast a season of the contest that had already been filmed – with some changes.
Those changes have thus far involved two contestants being edited out, while jokes made by Wallace and Torode have also been cut from usual broadcasts.
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So far, the new episodes have largely passed without much incident, but MasterChef viewers couldn’t hold in their laughter during one bizarre sequence this week.
During the latest episode of the new instalment, which began on August 6, people watching MasterChef at home couldn’t help but notice something eerily familiar three times in 30 seconds.
In the middle of an exchange with one of the cooking contestants, Wallace can be seen pulling the exact same expression on three separate occasions.
Fans immediately speculated that the same footage had been used three times, with TikTok user GingerNatDSN filming the incident from her living room.
In the video, she said: ‘Okay, the new MasterChef – because they’ve had to cut out dodgy bits but still keep the presenters in… I still don’t understand why they had to keep them in, but that’s what they’ve done.
‘They have reused the same bit of Gregg three times,’ she added before instructing her viewers to watch and count how many times Wallace’s face appeared.
On X, @Wozzo22 joked, ‘Is this for real?’ while several other users responded to the clip with a series of crying laughing emojis to illustrate their reactions.
@MarkMcCarthy32 said the clip gave him fond memories of Harry Hill: ‘I just know Harry Hill would’ve had a field day with this on TV Burp.’
Some viewers compared it to a famous scene from The Simpsons in which Homer Simpson is crudely edited by a news channel to make it seem like he’s about to attack one of the presenters.
However, user @IDon’tRememberMyLogin defended the show: ‘I work in post-production in UK TV and based on the turnaround time it was probably the quickest fix they could do – just re-use the shot to cover up any cut content.
‘The hosts certainly wouldn’t be able to be completely edited out, however, unless they re-shot all their bits with new hosts and spliced them in – but that wouldn’t really happen due to money.’
MasterChef’s latest edition, its 21st overall, will continue to air through August and into autumn as the show aims to discover Britain’s next best chef.
Speaking about his departure from the show, Wallace released a statement, saying he was ‘sorry’ but also added that broadcasting had become a ‘dangerous place’ for ‘a working-class man with a direct manner’.
‘None of the serious allegations against me were upheld. I challenged the remaining issue of unwanted touching, but have had to accept a difference in perception, and I am deeply sorry for any distress caused. It was never intended.
‘To those who’ve shown kindness, thank you. It mattered. This has been brutal. For a working-class man with a direct manner, modern broadcasting has become a dangerous place. I was the headline this time. But I won’t be the last.’
Metro has contacted the BBC for comment.
Watch MasterChef on BBC iPlayer. Next live episode, 8.30pm, BBC One, Friday August 15.
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