MasterChef fans praise BBC as they spot awkward editing cuts after scandal

MasterChef fans have praised BBC bosses after they spotted the awkward moment TV bosses were forced to edit out a contestant from the cooking show, The latest series of MasterChef was hit with controversy in the weeks leading up the its launch after hosts Gregg Wallace and John Torode were axed. A report revealed that more than 40 historic complaints made against Wallace had been upheld, along with a claim that Torode once used a racist term, which he vehemently denies.

Despite the backlash from fans to axe the series, producers ultimately decided to air series 21, which had already been filmed. During Wednesday night's episode - the fourth in its run - saw five amateur cooks enter the BBC kitchen rather than the usual six.

But the long shot of the group walking into the studio raised a few eyebrows after the show diverted from its usual format, instead featuring close ups of their faces or in pairs.

Once inside, John and Gregg explained how two cooks would automatically go through to the next round after cooking their opening first dish. The two men in the competition - Sam and Trevor - made it through to the next round, leaving the three women - Hazel, Aileeen, and Marcella - to compete again.

After cooking a second dish, the ladies returned to the room but the footage abruptly cut after Hazel walked in behind Marcella and Aileen. As John revealed who the remaining two chefs would be going through to the final round, the camera shots remained closely cropped to each of the three women, rather than the wider shots that are typical of the show.

Marcella was chosen first, before John announced Hazel's name. But in a bizarre moment, Hazel - who was at the end of the line - looked to her left and gave a thankful nod before looking to her right and doing the same to Aileen, who was in the middle of the trio. But as far as viewers could see, there was no one on Hazel's lef that she would need to thank.

As Aileen left the room, Hazel appeared to gesture with her arm to the left, before a big empry space next to Hazel flashed up on screen, making the interaction even more unusual. The odd episode comes after it was revealed that one contestant had asked to be editied out of the series.

It didn't take long before fans flooded to X - formerly known as Twitter - to praise the editors on their hard work seemlessly removing one contestant from the episode. One user lauded: "Kudos to the editors of this episode. You would hardly have known that one contestant had been edited out."

Another agreed: "I've just witnessed a masterpiece of editing" as a third echoed: "They managed to completely edit out Sarah Shafi! How was it possible?" Sarah Shafi, from Leeds, argued that airing the series sent the wrong message after the BBC sacked presenters returned to the airwaves.

The 57-year-old contestant claimed producer Banijay had offered to edit her out of the episode she featured in. But the participant dismissed the proposal and called for the whole series to be scrapped. Once the broadcaster confirmed the series was going ahead, Ms Shafi agreed to be edited out.

A spokesperson for Banijay previously said: "As we said when we announced the show would be aired, this was not an easy deicion in the circumstances and we appreciate not everyone would agree with it.

"Banijay consulted with all the contestants before that decision was made and there was widespread support for it going ahead. The focus of the series is the contestants, as it always is. The edit has been looked at in light of the upheld findings."