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MasterChef films “fake” ending

MasterChef has filmed alternate endings, one real and at least one "fake", for its Grand Final.

2013-08-30_0013MasterChef Australia has filmed alternate endings, one real and at least one “fake”,  for its Grand Final on Sunday.

The TEN cooking show has followed other Reality shows with alternate endings in order to keep its winner from leaking. But in doing so it discards its former practice of filming the winner announcement on the day of the broadcast.

After a newspaper accidentally a story about the wrong “winner” in its first season, every other MasterChef series contestants has seen cooking filmed in advance, but the reveal of the scores taking place on the afternoon of the broadcast with contestants and families being kept on site until the episode aired.

A TEN spokesperson confirmed to TV Tonight that alternate endings had already been filmed.

MasterChef: The Professionals filmed alternate endings because it had to shoot while Marco Pierre White was still in the country.

But now the show has repeated the practice with alternate endings including at least one where a finalist is given fake scores and incorrectly declared the winner. Only the real scores will go to air, but none of the contestants know who will be declared winner.

Other shows such as My Kitchen Rules, The Biggest Loser, Celebrity Splash and Celebrity Apprentice have filmed alternate endings but have come under scrutiny about whether they are able to reward contestants who are popular with the audience, over their actual competition performance.

Filming two endings also works out to be more cost-effective to production, rather than having to haul everybody back for a half-day shoot.

Earlier this year TEN  sent out the wrong photos of winners for Biggest Loser to media but defended it by saying ““It’s standard practice for reality shows that are filmed in front of a live audience to shoot alternate endings in order to protect the result from leaking ….”

But MasterChef has no live audience component.

19 Responses

  1. scruffy August 31, 2013 at 12:54 am –

    [i]While filming alternate endings is ridiculous, what I’m upset about is Lynton being in the final 3. […] I bet you he wins, With his face on the cover they’re sure to sell a lot of cookbooks.[/i]

    i thought the alternate endings were obvious when the scores they gave didn’t seem to relate to the comments they made 5 minutes previously.. Emma’s final dish had lumpy ice granola, didn’t strain the ingredients, presentation was poor.. but then judges gave 9/10, saying there was nothing wrong with it..hmm

  2. While filming alternate endings is ridiculous, what I’m upset about is Lynton being in the final 3. Rishi was, without a doubt, the better cook of the two. He, Emma and Samira won countless dishes of the day and I can’t remember Lynton winning any. All he knows is how to cook kangaroo.
    Call me cynical, but I just knew he was going all the way months ago, by the way the producers set him apart from the other contestants in the opening credits. I bet you he wins, With his face on the cover they’re sure to sell a lot of cookbooks.

  3. I thought that one year they filmed the final episode from early Sunday, then a frantic editing job, and a live announcement of the winner while everyone was still around.

    Maybe they just pretended they did that. Seems logical to me.

  4. A few comments mention viewers feelings etc., since when have the 7..9…10 networks every shown any care or concern for their viewers other than stuffing them around by continually taking them for granted especially with their disrespectful programming attitudes

    But the practice of filming ” Fake Results and Reactions ” must surely be the ” Ultimate Spoiler ” for the very same viewers whose loyalty they have attracted during the season to inflate ratings numbers and the subsequent advertising $$$$, and then repay them by ” Deflating Viewer Enjoyment “,

    Perhaps it may be about time the viewers (with ratings boxes etc) boycotted this system, till these networks display the respect we viewers deserve.

  5. Bake Off winner Nancy kept the secret that she won since January. Why can’t other MC. Just adds to the growing comments on Facebook & Twitter that the competition is rigged somehow.
    With MC where the winner gets a book deal & really does become a ‘celebrity cook’ you would not want any tainting of the results.

  6. Hopefully Seven will move to a live finale for MKR next year (it seemed to work well for House Rules) and start pushing other networks (ie Ten) in the same direction.

    Though a live finale doesn’t mean that the outcome can’t be doctored by the producers.

  7. It must be hard for the contestants to give a genuine reaction to their name being announced as the winner, when they don’t actually know if they’re the winner until they watch it on TV. Surely there must be a better way to do this. Survivor-style?

  8. My goodness, is MasterChef still going? Is anybody still watching it? Does anybody care? It seems like an eternity since it began, in reality it began last January with the All-Stars series, took a brief break over Easter then started up again. Surely TEN must realise that MasterChef has just been done to death over the years and it is time to start something new. Or have they just decided to stop looking at the ratings altogether?

  9. So the poor winner has to fake their excitement, and that is what you see? Glad I didn’t watch this year. Even MKR is losing credibility for doing the same thing.
    You want to see true elation in the winner eyes, not and act.

  10. David, you are incorrect in saying that all other seasons of MC filmed final cooking in advance and the winner announced on the day of TX. The first season, that Julie Goodwin won, was filmed in advance with no alternate winner filmed. And not sure about varients (Professionals/Junior/Celebrity).

  11. That really is rubbish, and shows no respect to the contestants they have paraded out for our entertainment, do a 30 minute live, winner is revealed!

  12. This alternate ending rubbish is an insult to the audience. We watch a show like this to get a genuine reaction and all we get is a staged one. Stick your show 10.

  13. I think they should do it Survivor style and film the actual winner being announced live. It adds to the excitement and makes great TV. Filming a ‘fake’ ending isn’t really fair to the one who was falsely announced as the winner. Imagine how they must feel to be told, oh sorry it wasn’t you after all. It’s a bit mean.

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