Masterchef hit by "faked soufflé" row

A bizarre brouhaha has broken out over a shot of a soufflé on BBC hit show Masterchef.

In the show that aired on 1 February, contestant Tom Rennolds presented his chilli pineapple soufflé to judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace.

The version presented had fallen, but Gregg Wallace was seen tucking into a noticeably higher soufflé. This sparked conspiracy theories and accusations across social media and forums that Tom had been allowed additional cooking attempts.

The BBC issued a statement contending that such conclusions were "completely untrue" as contestants are always allowed to cook more than one soufflé, but they must present only one to be filmed and tasted.

The Beeb said: "We always cut back to the shot of the food as it was when first plated up as a reminder of how the dish looked before the tasting. Then filming of the judging continues, by which time soufflés have naturally deflated."

The corporation added: "This doesn't affect the tasting or judging at all as the soufflé taste remains the same and, of course, the judges have seen how it looks when first plated up."

The statement was released following reports in numerous media outlets and newspapers that the BBC had been "accused of faking scenes" in Masterchef.

For the record, both judges loved the soufflé.