Our verdict on new series of MasterChef - if it's on the telly, then we're eating out

Wallace’s downfall in particular was spectacular, surrounded by accusations of inappropriate and offensive behaviour.

With every protestation of innocence and every attempt at justification, Wallace dug himself in deeper.

Firstly, it was ‘middle-class women of a certain age’ who could not take a joke. I am a working-class woman of a certain age and I do not like sexual innuendo and crudity. That’s why I do not watch Carry On films.

When that went down like hot jelly, he blamed his newly-diagnosed autism, angering thousands who live with the condition.

Torode was sacked for making, allegedly, the worst of racial remarks. He denies it ever happened.

The latest series was filmed before any of this came to light and whether to screen it at all was debated.

The BBC was damned if it did, damned if it did not. It did, editing out as much of Wallace and Torode as it could.

Was that the right thing to do? The series is a chance for at least one person to change their lives for the better. The downside: It promotes two shamed stars and gives the impression that their distasteful behaviour has been condoned.

Contestant Sarah Shafi felt so strongly that the series should have been shelved that she advocated for it not to be shown. Instead, her appearance was edited out.

As with showing the series and leaving as much of its presenters on the cutting room floor as was possible, the compromise pleased no one.

The end result for MasterChef series 21: Critics, including myself, are feeding ravenously on its remains. The consensus – it’s a mess.

Ironically, the format was destined to be changed anyway: an audition round has been introduced.

Nine home cooks present their Family Favourite dish to Torode and Wallace, who sit away from the chefs in the tasting room.

After tasting the nine plates, the duo pick their three favourite dishes and the cooks are given a MasterChef apron and entry to the next round.

The remaining six contestants then cook again to try to win one of the four remaining aprons.

Whether it was always going to be in the editing, the opening section places the attention on the contestants and has a Great British Bake Off vibe.

Then it’s business as usual. Six cooks sweat, steam and stew as Torode and Wallace move among them, making banal comments. Only this time it’s a case of lots of dishes and their cooks, and minimum presenters’ egos on the side – rather than vice-versa.

Without the scandal surrounding it, would I have watched MasterChef? I’d rather eat cold mashed potatoes in a hot blackcurrant jus.

It’s easy to say now, but with those two at its helm MasterChef had become a serving of self-satisfied smugness with a smidgen of burgeoning culinary talent on the side.

In different ways, both men revelled in and made the most of their fame. They had become bigger than the show and they overshadowed anyone and everyone – including Michelin-starred chefs, restaurant critics, past winners and contending cooks – who crossed their presenting paths.

Its format, too had become staler than last week’s loaf, boring as a diet of boiled fish and green beans.

This time, the opening sequence reveals that Gordon Ramsay will make an appearance. He is the action man of celebrity chefs with Jamie Oliver, no matter how old he gets, the Boy Wonder.

Any producer wanting to stir things up in the MasterChef kitchen should look to Next Level Chef, Ramsay’s culinary competition made for US television which airs on Freeview. That is tasty.

Spoiler alert: MasterChef is available on BBC iPlayer including the final where the winner is revealed.