‘They’ve been living together for weeks!’ Fans claim MasterChef’s social distancing restrictions are ‘pointless’… as the show implements strict new guidelines amid COVID-19 pandemic
MasterChef: Back to Win put into place new social distancing guidelines and hygiene practices on Monday night’s episode.
The precautions saw the show’s judges and contestants stand 1.5metres apart from one another while filming the show amid the coronavirus pandemic.
But fans of Channel Ten’s ratings juggernaut have claimed that the distancing restrictions are ‘pointless’ and ‘unnecessary’, as the contestants live together full-time throughout the competition in a multimillion-dollar mansion.
‘They’ve been living together for weeks!’ On Monday, fans claimed MasterChef’s new social distancing restrictions were ‘pointless’
‘Why do the contestants need to do social distancing when they all live in the same house,’ one person tweeted.
‘I get the importance of social distancing and all but they’ve all been living together for weeks when this was filmed,’ another agreed.
One person wrote: ‘Social distancing in the MasterChef kitchen when they were in the house and safe before it became a pandemic. Kinda seems real dumb.’
‘Social distancing does seem a bit pointless when they’re all together every day. And in a team challenge. As long as they’re in lockdown, wouldn’t they be ok?’ one said.
‘They should be excluded as they live together,’ another commented.
‘It seems a bit pointless’: MasterChef fans flocked to Twitter to label the distancing restrictions as ‘pointless’ as the contestants live together full-time throughout the competition
On Monday night, judge Jock Zonfrillo heralded the new changes at the beginning of the episode.
‘Welcome to a brand-new week and a whole new world. A lot has changed in recent days due to the coronavirus. None of us have ever experienced anything like this before. But we are all in this together,’ Jock told the contestants.
‘We’re gonna do things a little bit differently from now on in here. You might notice we’re standing a little bit further apart. That’s the first new rule. You must keep a safe distance from each other at all times,’ he explained.
Restrictions: ‘Welcome to a brand-new week and a whole new world. A lot has changed in recent days due to the coronavirus. None of us have ever experienced anything like this before. But we are all in this together,’ Jock told the contestants.
MasterChef began filming at Melbourne Showgrounds in January, two months before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March.
On April 1, returning contestant Poh Ling Yeow said they were only halfway through production.
In order to continue filming, location shoots were banned and contestants were told to keep their distance from each other in the kitchen.
Judge Jock Zonfrillo (pictured) told the contestants: ‘We’re gonna do things a little bit differently from now on in here. You might notice we’re standing a little bit further apart. That’s the first new rule. You must keep a safe distance from each other at all times.’
Viewers will also see plenty of soap and sanitising stations set up around the kitchen, as well as contestants wearing gloves when shopping in the pantry.
Celebrity guest judges Nigella Lawson and Heston Blumenthal had to cancel their scheduled appearances, and challenges involving crowds were shelved.
Interstate travel was also cancelled, meaning all the action must take place within the MasterChef kitchen.
MasterChef continues Tuesday at 7.30pm on Channel Ten
Pandemic: MasterChef began filming at Melbourne Showgrounds in January, two months before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March. Picture: the cast