MasterChef: Editing fail with judge Melissa Leong during mystery box challenge

MasterChef Australia suffered a very subtle editing fail on Wednesday night.

Viewers noticed judge Melissa Leong appeared in two places at once, suggesting the   footage was chopped up in a misleading sequence to build suspense. 

During the final moments of the mystery box challenge, she was counting down at the front of the studio in one scene, then behind Reynold Poernomo in the next.

The bizarre sequence began with Melissa standing with fellow judges Jock Zonfrillo and Andy Allen at the front of the kitchen as the challenge came to an end.

‘Come on! Two minutes to go,’ Jock shouted, as the cast raced to finish their dishes and the judges put on the pressure by watching them from up front.

As the camera then cut to Reynold, who was desperately shelling his lobster, Melissa was behind him, on the opposite side of the studio. 

She was seen having a chat with chef Callum Hann, suggesting time wasn’t actually of the essence or that producers had cut to footage from earlier that day. 

A split second later, Melissa was back at the front of the kitchen again.

She then counted down from ten with Jock and Andy, bringing this week’s mystery box challenge to an end. 

‘Did anyone else just pick up on that editing fail? Melissa on two sides of the room at once,’ tweeted one eagle-eyed viewer as the episode aired.

Many more viewers picked up on the subtle blunder across social media. 

While heavily produced reality shows such as Married At First Sight are rife with editing fails, MasterChef is mostly trusted for its accurate portrayal of the cooking challenges.