Gregg Wallace was sacked from MasterChef in July (Image: BBC)

If you watched MasterChef reach its thrilling conclusion last month, you might have seen Clapham resident Harry Maguire being crowned the winner. The 32-year-old former fishmonger beat dozens of hopeful contestants in a series of jaw-dropping challenges and cooked for culinary royalty, including Heston Blumenthal. However, this series of MasterChef was a little different. The two presenters, Gregg Wallace and John Torode, sparked controversy after they were both sacked in July this year. Gregg had previously stepped down from his position in November following a series of allegations, which he firmly denies. Meanwhile, John departed his role after an allegation that he used an offensive, racist term was upheld. Torode claims he has no recollection of saying the term.

Speaking exclusively to Express Online, Harry has lifted the lid on what it was like being in the BBC cooking studio almost a year after they wrapped filming.

Harry is a former fishmonger from Clapham in South London (Image: BBC/SHINE TV)

“Walking into the studio for the first time was a real ‘pinch myself’ moment. I’d seen the studio so many times on previous series of MasterChef, so actually being there for the first time felt really special,” he started.

Speaking about what surprised him, he said: “Nothing can quite prepare you for the intensity of the MasterChef kitchen. Time seems to pass, and double the speed, and silly mistakes in your cooking that you’ve practised hundreds of times before can suddenly start happening. It’s a truly exhilarating experience.”

In terms of filming, Harry revealed that he was strictly told by producers to follow one specific rule.

Harry was crowned the winner of MasterChef 2025 (Image: BBC)
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“We were asked not to swear when in the MasterChef kitchen during challenges. They promoted an environment that allowed you to enjoy the challenges as much as possible. The focus then became about trying to remember your timings because every single cook came down to the last few seconds,” he confessed.

“The whole filming experience took place over the course of about 12 weeks, with the filming ramping up as we got closer and closer to the final. The last couple of weeks, we were filming most days of the week.”

In terms of winning, Harry feels extremely fortunate: “I didn’t apply to MasterChef with the view to winning it, I simply wanted to test my skills and have fun as part of the experience. As the challenges progressed, I developed my skills massively, but I never allowed myself to think that I could win. I just kept focusing on the next challenge.”