BBC MasterChef contestant ERASED from show after objecting to broadcast amid Gregg Wallace and John Torode scandal
A MasterChef contestant has been removed from the forthcoming series after demanding the programme be cancelled rather than broadcast with disgraced presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode.
Sarah Shafi, a 57-year-old leadership development specialist from Leeds, told production company Banijay she objected to airing the show following misconduct findings against both hosts.
“I didn’t say edit me out,” Shafi stated. “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?”
The St John Ambulance management development partner entered the cooking competition as a tribute to her late mother, a pioneering Indian cookery teacher.
Rather than cancelling the series, producers proposed removing Shafi from the episode in which she appeared.
The contestant initially declined this offer, describing herself as “flabbergasted” by what Banijay presented as a “potential solution”.
“I was flabbergasted, because in what way was that a solution – and a solution for whom?” she explained. “My point was not about me not being associated with it. My point was about the institutional enabling environment.”
During what Shafi described as a “quite heated conversation” with a producer, she was encouraged to consider the opportunities the programme provided other contestants.
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She ultimately accepted removal from the show only after the BBC publicly confirmed its intention to broadcast the series from August 6.
The misconduct allegations against both presenters emerged from an independent investigation by law firm Lewis Silkin.
An executive summary revealed 45 substantiated claims against Wallace, encompassing inappropriate sexual language and one instance of unwelcome physical contact.
Wallace has expressed being “deeply sorry for any distress” whilst maintaining the report cleared him of “the most serious and sensational accusations”.
Torode faced nine complaints including racist language, abusive behaviour towards junior staff and sexual language. Only one allegation was substantiated – his use of an extremely offensive racist term on the MasterChef set in 2018, allegedly directed at a staff member.
The chef stated he had “no recollection” of the incident and described any racist language as “wholly unacceptable”. He was dismissed shortly after the report’s publication.
Shafi’s objections extended beyond individual misconduct to systemic failures within television production.
“For me, it’s about the enabling environment. It’s that complicity. Those individual powerful men do not [act] in isolation. There is an enabling environment, turning a blind eye… It’s about years of these institutions not being accountable,” she explained.
She questioned the broadcaster’s priorities, asking: “While the BBC are signalling how life-changing, for the better, this could be for some contestants – I’d say top 10 at most – where is the respect for how life changing, for the worse, it has been for the victims?”
The contestant proposed an alternative approach: “Why don’t you do a special show dedicated to these people that excludes those prominent figures – but it focuses on the talent?”
The BBC confirmed its intention to proceed with broadcasting despite acknowledging that “not everyone will agree” with the decision, which it recognised as difficult.
A BBC spokesperson told GB News that Banijay had consulted all contestants before making the decision, with “widespread support for it going ahead”.
The corporation expressed regret that Shafi opposed the decision whilst thanking her for raising concerns.
Banijay UK similarly noted that after consulting all series contributors, “the resounding feeling from those taking part was support for airing the series”.