Delayed MasterChef series to be on iPlayer only?

The delayed series of MasterChef that was filmed last year may not air on BBC One and instead go out on iPlayer, according to a report.

The show usually airs over around eight weeks from March or April but the most recently-filmed series was delayed due to allegations surrounding co-host Gregg Wallace, who stepped aside from the programme in November.

A report due to be published this week is expected to clear Wallace of the most serious allegations against him, including “groping”, but will find that his language to colleagues was inappropriate on multiple occasions.

The BBC has also fired Wallace from the franchise but now faces a conundrum about what to do with the unaired series, which features him heavily.

“The investigation into Gregg is yet to be published but when he released his own statement on Tuesday it sparked a wave of events,” a source told The Sun.

“One has been escalating the issue of how to handle the ‘lost’ MasterChef series, which Gregg filmed last summer before all this began.

“It had been shelved while the investigation was underway but now bosses are aware they need to make a decision as there are contributors to consider.

“Bosses are inclined to can the whole thing, but that would also mean binning the time – and hopes – poured into making the show by those amateur chefs.

“Another option is installing the series on iPlayer only, so viewers would ‘elect’ to stream it, with their understanding that it included Gregg. Editing him out is not an option.”

A BBC spokesman said: “Banijay UK instructed the law firm Lewis Silkin to run an investigation into allegations against Gregg Wallace.

“We are not going to comment until the investigation is complete and the findings are published.”