MasterChef star Ben Ungermann addresses mystery exit

MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo finally addressed the exit of contestant Ben Ungermann after the star was kicked off the show.

MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo finally addressed the exit of contestant Ben Ungermann last night after the star was kicked off the show.

Ungermann disappeared on tonight's show with a brief mention to the contestants. His last episode was on MasterChef's Katy Perry special. 

"You're probably wondering where Ben is. Due to a personal matter, Ben has had to leave the competition, and he will not be returning," said judge Jock Zonfrillo on Sunday night's episode.

In March, production company  Endemol Shine released a statement saying that Ungermann had been removed from the cooking show because he had been arrested by police for what was described as an incident of a “personal nature”.

“We can confirm Ben Ungermann has left the MasterChef Australia competition. As this is a police matter, we will not be making further comment,” the spokesman said at the time.

Ungermann has been seen in most episodes of MasterChef: Back To Win that have aired so far.

However, there had been rumours the ice cream cook was about to disappear from the show when he was mysteriously absent from Thursday's episode that featured pop star Katy Perry. He should have been on the gantry looking down at the contestants vying for immunity.

But he then popped up in the "Masterclass" segment later in the episode. However, it seems that may have been filmed beforehand.

RELATED: MasterChef star Poh Ling Yeow’s crazy love story

Ben Ungermann was booted from MasterChef after being arrested.

Ungermann hasn’t spoken publicly about the arrest yet but he did reply to a fan’s comment on Instagram about how his exit will be covered by the show.

“I’m actually devastated,” the fan wrote to Ungermann. “How do they edit you out?”

The former contestant replied: “That’s up to MasterChef Australia. Appreciate the support.”

Viewers said his departure was the most unexpected twist in the series' "twist week" which has been airing. Some hoped that contestants that had been eliminated, such as Hayden Quinn this evening or Amina Elshafei might get the chance to return.

#MasterChefAU
Judges: Ben has left due to personal reasons.
Everyone: ...
Judges: pic.twitter.com/K5WRWIOVxa

— domeanddodders (@domeanddodders) May 17, 2020

Jock: You're probably wondering where Ben is.
Callum and Simon: *look around as if they're not even sure who the hell Ben was*#MasterChefAU

— 30-50 feral Kyms (not Sarah or an Octopus) (@VerboseBorbage) May 17, 2020

The real reason Ben left #MasterChefAU is because they wouldn’t let him cook icecream on the hibachi

— food bling, Brisbane (@foodbling) May 17, 2020

I was hoping they'd just replace Ben with a different actor and pretend nothing happened like so many TV shows int the past have done.. #masterchefau

— Marko (@AusLoafer) May 17, 2020

Ben mysteriously leaving is the biggest twist for twist week #MasterChefAU

— ma (@its_enixam) May 17, 2020

Ungermann first appeared on MasterChef in Season 9 in 2017. He finished second behind Diana Chan.

After the show, he opened an ice cream shop with his brother called Ungermann Brothers which is located in Ipswich, Queensland.

RELATED: Chris Badenoch hits back at Gordon Ramsay after outburst

Ben Ungermann inside his ice cream store.