I've seen new MasterChef series - one huge mistake means there's no point watching

MasterChef fans rejoiced when the BBC confirmed it would air the last ever series starring shamed hosts Gregg Wallace and John Torode. Both judges were axed from the cooking show following an investigation into their conduct, which found one substantiated incident in which Torode used a racist remark and 45 incidents involving Wallace - including "inappropriate sexual language" and one of "unwelcome physical contact".

Even one of the contestants demanded she be edited out of the series when the decision was made to air it. But the others were happy to go ahead, and now the full series has dropped on BBC iPlayer. Episodes will air on BBC One from 8pm tonight (August 6). But sadly, I have to warn you - there's very little to tune in for.

Sitting down to watch the first episode and the first thing that strikes me is how empty it all feels. The banter is nonexistent - perhaps for good reason, but it's surely a bad sign that so much of it had to be edited out. Just how often were the hosts making tasteless quips? Instead, Wallace and Torode are shown as little as possible, commenting only on the dishes served to them.

What strikes me as most odd is how little the pair talk to each other. There are a few moments in which they spark a smile - reacting to the heat in a contestant's dish, reassuring another when they spot his hands shaking. But Gregg and John barely exchange a word with one another that's not directly about the food or the chefs. There are no jokes, no mention of life outside the kitchen, no reference to anything other than what's directly in front of them. It's no secret the pair have never been friends, but come on. They used to at least share some on-screen chemistry.

It's a stark change from previous seasons, where you'd regularly hear the hosts at least saying one another's names. None of that now. They're barely shown together on screen, and when they are they're poring over a contestant or looking stressed. It's all made more apparent by heavy-handed edits.

In the episode, six contestants are whittled down to a final three, who head into the quarter-final. They cook dishes to impress the top three from last season, all while Torode and Wallace blend seamlessly into the background.

It's not all bad. The food makes my stomach rumble through the screen. The emotional highs and lows of the contestants are as poignant as always, with one bursting into tears over her plate of trout.

I'm just not sure I want to watch any more of a series which has hollowed itself out so much in order to avoid further scandal involving its central stars. Better to axe the whole thing.