7 days ago
Northampton MasterChef contestant pleased series has aired
A MasterChef contestant said she was "so pleased" that the show's new series had aired, despite both of its presenters being Wallace and John Torode were dismissed last month after a report into conduct on the cooking show upheld complaints against BBC decided to still show this year's amateur series - filmed before they were sacked - saying it was "the right thing to do" for the chefs who took Hodgson from Northampton, who appeared in an episode which aired last week, said it was "an absolute joy to see our hard work, as it was meant to be, for the public".
She said: "I mean, the amount of hard work... can you imagine if [the show was cancelled and] you were in the whole thing and you won it?"I understand, of course, why the BBC and Banijay UK (MasterChef's primary production company) had to really consider that... [but] this was about the contestants."Ms Hodgson, 40, who works as a vocal coach, was named chef of the day in her appearance on the first episode of the show's 21st series in which she prepared an Indonesian prawn curry.
The controversy over MasterChef started last year, when BBC News first revealed claims of misconduct against month, a report revealed that 83 complaints had been made against Wallace with more than 40 upheld, including one of unwelcome physical contact and another three of being in a state of union Bectu said bad behaviour "should not be rewarded with prime time coverage", while a leading women's rights charity warned many people would feel "deeply uncomfortable" to see the show on their TV of the women who made allegations against Wallace also told BBC News they did not think it should be aired, with one saying it displayed "a blatant disregard for the people who have come forward".Wallace insisted he was cleared of "the most serious and sensational allegations".
'Wholly unacceptable'
The upheld complaint against Torode related to a severely offensive racist term allegedly used on the set of MasterChef in presenter said he had "no recollection" of it and that any racist language was "wholly unacceptable".Wallace will be replaced by Irish chef Anna Haugh in the final episodes of the new series, as that is when the allegations against him first emerged during filming in November.
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