Yet another MasterChef contestant has been edited out of the scandal-ridden cooking series – despite the BBC having already sacked hosts John Torode and Gregg Wallace.
Sarah Shafi and another contestant who wanted to remain anonymous said they did not want to appear in the series given ‘recent events’, according to The Sun.
Sarah previously said she felt ‘pressured’ to accept show bosses’ offer to cut her from the final edits completely.
This means the show’s upcoming season, yet to be aired, will be heavily edited the whole way through so as not to include two competitors.
It follows a report which upheld damning claims against once-beloved host Gregg Wallace, and use of unacceptable language by John Torode.
At the end of last year, Wallace was accused of making s3xualised jokes and other inappropriate remarks towards a range of women, with claims dating back as far as 19 years.
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Yet another MasterChef contestant has been edited out of the scandal-ridden cooking series – despite the BBC having already sacked hosts John Torode and Gregg Wallace
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It follows a report which upheld damning claims against once-beloved host Wallace (R) and the use of unacceptable language by Torode (L)
Since then, more than 50 people have approached the BBC with fresh claims about the presenter – including allegations he groped a MasterChef worker and pulled his trousers down in front of another.
Wallace denies the claims, but was sacked by BBC bosses in November last year.
The upheld complaint against Torode related to his allegedly using an extremely offensive racist term on the set of MasterChef in 2018.
The beloved cooking competition has since been mired in scandal, with many watchers and even former contestants calling for the series to be axed.
Sarah Shafi, of Leeds, said she felt airing MasterChef would send the wrong message about what happens when women report misconduct by men in positions of power.
The 57-year-old told The Guardian: ‘I said: “Axe the show, don’t air the show. I’m asking you not to air the show.”
‘Prominent figures have been abusing their power. What message does that send out to women?’
Sarah revealed she was left ‘flabbergasted’ after being edited out of the hit cooking competition following a heated conversation where she felt pressured to agree to the cut.
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Sarah Shafi and another contestant who wanted to remain anonymous said they did not want to appear in the series given ‘recent events’
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Sarah previously said she felt ‘pressured’ to accept show bosses’ offer to cut her from the final edits completely
‘Women are being silenced,’ she said.
Sarah claimed she was ‘eyed up and ogled’ by Gregg Wallace on the show, while accusing the TV host of making an ‘off’ comment about his reputation with women.
Unable to remember the exchange verbatim, she told Newsnight: ‘I just stood there, I didn’t know how to respond to that. And that I just thought, “Where’s that come from? Why was he saying that to me?”
‘And then later he came a bit closer and made a comment that I was really amazing and I thought, “It’s weird, but I’ll take it.” But I thought, “I just don’t like it.” I felt it was off.’
MasterChef viewers have been left divided as the controversial 21st series arrived on BBC iPlayer before its TV premiere after the BBC’s decision to air the episodes.
The popular show return to television screens earlier this month after a last-minute scramble to re-edit it and limit the appearances of Wallace and Torode.
Both presenters had been axed from hosting future iterations of the long-running cookery contest.
Ahead of its debut on linear television, the first three episodes of MasterChef have been made available to watch immediately on catch up.
However, as fans tuck into the under-fire culinary series, they’ve been left divided as they flocked to social media to share their thoughts.
One viewer blasted the BBC as ‘disgusting’ and added that the corporation ‘have nothing to be proud of’.
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