MasterChef star arrested, kicked off popular cooking show

MasterChef Australia hosts George Calombaris, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan. Photo / Supplied

MasterChef Australia star Ben Ungermann has been booted from this year's upcoming Back To Win season after a mysterious arrest.

The returning chef, who was the runner-up in 2017's Season 9 competition, was removed from production after he was arrested for what's being described as an incident of a "personal nature", according to the Herald Sun.

An Endemol Shine Australia spokesperson said; "We can confirm Ben Ungermann has left the MasterChef Australia competition. As this is a police matter, we will not be making further comment".

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IM BACK! BACK TO WIN MASTERCHEF 2020 ❤ stay tuned fam x

A post shared by Ben Ungermann (@ben_ungermann) on Feb 18, 2020 at 11:41pm PST

Ungermann was announced as a cast member of Back To Win in February, in a season which features 24 previous MasterChef contestants returning to the series for another shot at the coveted title.

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THIS APRIL FAM WATCH ME BATTLE IT OUT in Masterchef's Back to Win 🏆 on Channel 10! @masterchefau @channel10au #masterchefau #masterchef #teamben #benungermann #gaston #theicecreamguy #cheflife #food #igfood

A post shared by Ben Ungermann (@ben_ungermann) on Feb 20, 2020 at 1:38am PST

Since appearing on MasterChef Australia in 2017, Ungermann has also featured on MasterChef Holland and MasterChef Indonesia.

Outside of reality TV, he runs the Ungermann Brothers Ice Cream Parlour with his younger brother, Danny

According to reports, fellow contestants have been left in the dark as to why Ungermann was removed from the programme.