A contestant from the latest series of MasterChef has been edited out of the programme after telling producers she did not want the show to be broadcast, following allegations against presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode.
Sarah Shafi, 57, from Leeds, said she made it clear to producers at Banijay that airing the series would send the wrong message about the treatment of women and the lack of challenge to powerful men behaving inappropriately. She initially rejected an offer to be edited out but agreed once the BBC announced it would broadcast the series from 6 August.
Shafi said: “I didn’t say edit me out. I said: ‘Axe the show, don’t air the show.’ Prominent figures have been abusing their power. What message does that send out to women?” She described an “enabling environment” and “complicity” that allowed such behaviour to persist.
Wallace was dropped by the BBC after an independent report substantiated 45 allegations against him, including inappropriate sexual language and one incident of unwelcome physical contact. Torode was also dropped after a substantiated complaint over racist language, which he denies.
Shafi, a leadership and management development partner for St John Ambulance, entered the programme as a tribute to her late mother, a pioneering Indian cookery teacher. After the allegations emerged, she urged Banijay not to broadcast the series, leading to a heated conversation with a producer.
The BBC said the decision to air the series was not easy but noted widespread support from contestants. A Banijay UK spokesperson expressed regret that Shafi did not support the decision, adding that the “resounding feeling” from contributors was support for airing the series.
