Fans accused the show of “collusion” between the judges after Diana Chan took out a one-point victory over Ben Ungermann in the final moments of Monday night’s episode.
Adding further fuel to the speculation, eagle-eyed viewers were quick to point out an editing error that pointed to Ben being the rightful victor.
Taking to Twitter, many shared screenshots of an alternate scoreboard declaring the Queensland dad had won with a total of 90 points to Diana’s 89.
Speaking with News.com.au, a network spokesperson dismissed the mix-up as a post-production mistake.
“To protect the winner and the highly anticipated result, two endings of MasterChef Australia are filmed by our production partner,” the spokesman revealed.
“An editing error during production meat two versions of the final score went to air last night. The episode is being amended and the correct version will appear on tenplay and in future on-air broadcasts."
New Idea understands that the finale was actually filmed months ago, with both contestants only finding out who had taken out the top prize just hours before the episode went to air.
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