MasterChef fans tuning into this week's episodes of the hit BBC cooking show were shocked to see that Gregg Wallace had been replaced.
Gregg, who has co-hosted the cooking competition with co-star and pal John Torode since 2005, was noticably absent in Tuesday's show.
It was crunch time for the amateur chefs this week as the final 14 were split into two groups of 14.
But standing alone to greet them was John, who explained that Gregg would not be joining them this week.
On Tuesday's episode, dessert lover Gregg was replaced by Masterchef: The Professionals judge Anna Haugh. The following episode, Monica Galleti stepped in to help.
While fans enjoyed the week of intense cooking - and the return of Professionals legend Monica - they were desperate to see favourite Gregg back on the TV.
"Hurry back Gregg," one fan tweeted.
While another joked: "Gregg unwell, a bad case of Wahey!! Fever. #MasterChef."
MasterChef is pre-recorded months in advance, so Gregg is already better now and fighting fit, showing off his muscly physique in the gym earlier this week.
Sharing a video of himself doing some chest presses with two 35kg dumbells, he captioned it: "2 x 35kg dumbbells. Age shouldn’t stop us wanting to be the best us."
His friends and fans were impressed, with Gethin Jones writing: "Greg Peck."
Another commented:"Good weight Gregg, 59 myself and been training 44 years."
A third wrote: I’m 55 and have trained for 35 years. Keeps you young."
Gregg underwent a health and fitness transformation over lockdown, ditching over four and a half stone with a balanced diet coupled with a regular exercise routine.
At his heaviest, Gregg revealed how he weighed around 16 and a half stone, stating how he was “overweight and wasn’t happy”.
He admitted the main reason he wanted to lose weight was so he could “look better on the telly” and initally tried to stick to several restrictive diets, such as fasting, no carbs and low fat.
Although these did result in short-term weight-loss, the Londoner told the Express he was “really uncomfortable” and “horribly hungry and miserable all the time”.
As a result, Gregg looked for a more long-term solution that would also keep him feeling chipper.
After continuing to exercise and eat healthily during the Covid lockdown, the star maintained his weight loss and weighed in at just under 12 stone.
*MasterChef returns on Tuesday at 9pm on BBC One
