Masterchef: The Professionals

I caught the tail end of Masterchef: The Professionals on BBC2 last night, and I was so nonplussed by what presenters Monica Galetti and Gregg Wallace said to this guy that I watched some of it again on i-player a moment ago, just in case either I had misunderstood/misheard – or alternatively they weren't being serious. Amazingly, they were being serious. It would appear that Harley, a professional chef from Hull, is a seriously good cook, because both judges were impressed by his efforts; but Monica told him to 'get a shave and a haircut' before coming back and Gregg prefaced his remarks by saying, 'well, you hippie..' (granted, in the nicest possible way).

Neither Galetti nor Gregg meant any offence of course, and none was taken – Harley seems to be laid-back and decent enough to take it in his stride – but I just thought: is this not a tiny bit judgemental? Shouldn't the judges be concentrating on the dishes rather than the grooming? Was the length of the contestant's hair (not even particularly long by the way) not, well... irrelevant, and indeed none of their business? I couldn't help thinking that had this been a female contestant, she would hardly have been sent to the hairdressers.

I'll bet the guy comes back all clean-shaven and crew-cut, which is fine I suppose, but the only credit will go to him and his easy-going nature.

Maybe it's just me.