File this one under “deeply odd things.” Though MasterChef Australia has always relied on a 24-person cast model throughout its entire existence, something a little strange is going on today on the official show website.
At some point over the last who-knows-how-long, the current Back To Win cast, according to the MasterChef website on Ten, has gained a mysterious new member. The 25th All Star.
In amongst the 11 remaining cast members and the 14 others that have been greyed out on the site now sits the profile of Faiza Rehman, nestled above Reynold Poernomo and beneath Amina Elshafei.
Rehman, as you may or may not recall, appeared in Season 5 of the series back in 2013, finishing in 16th place overall. That series was ultimately won by Emma Dean. Lynton Tapp, who was runner-up, returned for Back To Win this year, but was the first contestant to be eliminated.
So what the blue hell is happening here exactly? There’s obviously some sort of case to be made that the series could bring in a pinch-hitter to fill the void left by Ben Ungermann‘s fairly inglorious departure from the series, and if producers are looking to get spicy by bringing in someone else other than a previously eliminated Back To Win contestant that’s certainly not the worst idea in the world.
But then again, all respect to her, Faiza wouldn’t exactly be high on most people’s wish list for forgotten players. Not when people like Marion Grasby, Alice Zaslavsky, Alvin Quah, Matt Sinclair, or – hell – even the King himself John Carasig are still on the table.
Those of you keen on some sort of grand accidental spoiler action here might be in for a sour disappointment.
Faiza’s sudden appearance among the cast appears to be some sort of weird cataloguing error. Her profile bio and photo remain the same from Season 5, and her picture has disappeared from the Season 5 cast page, which now only sports 21 faces (Season 5 only ran with a Top 22).
How it transpired that Faiza’s profile ended up being yeeted up the ranks to Season 12 remains a mystery. But as anyone who’s ever had to deal with a dodgy CMS will know all-too-well, sometimes these things just… happen.
