The new season of MasterChef has begun on BBC One, despite mounting pressure for the show to be axed.
The first three episodes of the 21st series launched on iPlayer on Wednesday morning, ahead of the first episode airing on BBC One at 8pm.
Former MasterChef contestants, staff and broadcast union Bectu have argued that the show should not have been aired following the sacking of former presenters John Torode and Gregg Wallace.
One contestant, Sarah Shafi, has been entirely edited out of the new series after requesting for the new series to be cut due to claims against the two presenters.
Here’s everything we know about the MasterChef controversy:
Why is the decision controversial?
The 21st season of MasterChef is controversial because it features former hosts John Torode and Gregg Wallace, who have been sacked.
Torode was sacked from MasterChef after an investigation upheld a complaint that Torode had used severely offensive racist language on set in 2018.
The presenter said he had "no recollection" of it and that any racist language is "wholly unacceptable".
Wallace was also sacked after 45 out of 83 allegations of inappropriate behaviour were upheld following a seven-month investigation.
The former presenter issued an apology saying he was “deeply sorry for any distress caused” and that he “never set out to harm or humiliate”.
Who has voiced opposition to the decision?
Following the sackings, the BBC faced significant pressure not to broadcast the latest season featuring the two former hosts.
The broadcast union Bectu said that poor behaviour "should not be rewarded with prime-time coverage" and a leading women's rights charity cautioned that people would feel "deeply uncomfortable" to watch the show given what has happened.
Philippa Childs, told BBC News that the BBC should “reconsider its decision to broadcast the latest series of MasterChef“.
She said: "Whilst the BBC claims that it has consulted with contestants there appears to have been no consultation with complainants; freelancers who have taken the very difficult step of speaking out and who will legitimately feel distressed as the show appears on their screens several times a week over the next two months."
“If [the BBC] are serious about addressing this industry wide problem, broadcasters should not reward bad behaviour with prime-time coverage," she added.
The BBC declined to comment on Childs’ comments when approached by BBC News.
Contestant Sarah Shafi also said that the show should have been “axed”.
She said that axing the show would send a “strong message” that the BBC does not support people in prominent positions facilitating enabling environments.
Shafi added that she faced pressure to agree to the show being aired, explaining that editing her out the show made her feel “flabbergasted”.
“This is a woman being edited out. Again, the women gets silenced into extinction. It’s happening time and time again.”
“My point was not about me not being associated with it. My point was about the institutional enabling environment. I said I am completely against the airing of the show. I object to it strongly. This is the principle I’m standing by. I’m objecting to the show being aired, not about me being in it,” she said.
Production company Banijay and the BBC said they consulted all contestants before deciding to air the series and said they were “sorry” that Shafi did not support the decision.
Some of the women who came forward with claims against Wallace have also voiced anger at the broadcaster’s decision.
One former MasterChef worker who claimed Wallace groped her said that it showed “a blatant disregard for the people who have come forward.”
She said “it was a total reversal of so-called firing from MasterChef.”
Another former member of staff said the move was “profoundly disrespectful” to people like her who put forward allegations. She alleged that Wallace pulled his trousers down in front of her.
“It ultimately sends a message that such behaviour can be overlooked,” she said.
Penny East, chief executive of leading women’s charity Fawcett Society, said in response to the decision: "Seeing Gregg Wallace on our screens will be deeply uncomfortable for many people, not least the brave women who have spoken about his appalling behaviour
"It can't be right that men who sexually harass women continue to be given platform and allowed to maintain their profile and power
"We also know that all of the contestants will have put their hearts and souls into the competition over the many weeks of filming. To leave them with nothing to show for this feels uncomfortable.
"Perhaps editing out the presenters entirely would have been a better solution."
Shafi has previously expressed concerns about her experience on MasterChef, which she described as a “boys’ game”.
"I went there being faithful to food, not to be eyed up and ogled, it just felt that was very uncomfortable for me," she said. "That was with Gregg Wallace."
Banijay said it had “no record of Sarah raising concerns with producers at the time of filming, however when raised during the formal investigation process, we thoroughly assessed her claims including reviewing relevant programme rushes with Sarah
“These do not support her version of events regarding inappropriate comments or actions by Gregg Wallace which Sarah has acknowledged.”
Wallace who has previously strongly denied any sexually harassing behaviour and groping, has been approached for comment.
At the time the allegations against him were upheld he said he was cleared of "the most serious and sensational allegations".
But he added: "I recognise that some of my humour and language, at times, was inappropriate.
"For that, I apologise without reservation. But I was never the caricature now being sold for clicks."
Why are the BBC airing it?
The BBC said that the decision to go forward with airing the show was not "an easy decision”, adding that there was "widespread support" among participating chefs for the series to continue.
It is understood that the new series has been edited in an attempt to mimimise the focus on the former hosts, with the contestants featuring more centrally.
What does the public think
According to a recent YouGov survey, the public are broadly in favour of the show going ahead.
45 per cent of people said it should still be broadcast, 30 per cent said it shouldn’t and 25 per cent said they didn’t know.
