MasterChef's Gregg Wallace surprises viewers with fake Channel 4 doc
MasterChef's Gregg Wallace is known for his typically cuddly documentaries in which he walks around factories and learns how things are made, and that's what viewers expected when they tuned into The British Miracle Meat on Channel 4 last night (July 24).
The show promised to talk about the rise in meat substitutes, and it did, although it wasn't about the vegetarian and vegan options many people were expecting to learn about.
The documentary actually explored Britain's rising industry of using human meat in food production. Gregg meting people selling off their body parts for money and tasted meat from different parts of the UK with Michel Roux Jr.
Related: MasterChef's John Torode clarifies whether he's friends with co-star Gregg Wallace
The whole thing was fake, intended to be a dark satire (emphasis on the dark, as children's flesh was described as the premium meat) touching on how desperate the cost of living has gotten for many people.
Viewers watching at home were shocked by the bait-and-switch, as no doubt intended, and it's interesting to see how long it took some people to clock what was going on compared to others.
People also compared the mockumentary to an episode of Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror, while a few others claimed it felt like an updated version of the satirical essay 'A Modest Proposal' by Jonathan Swift, who was actually referenced in Miracle Meat's credits and later confirmed by the director.
This ‘British Miracle Meat’ show with Gregg Wallace is a joke/spoof right? Please tell me it’s not real, we are not promoting cannibalism?! 😂😂😂
— JaneAstra (@JaneAstra) July 24, 2023
Fell asleep in front of C4 news and woke up in the middle of the #greggwallace #miraclemeat programme - watching for 5 minutes in that slightly bleary, just woken up state wondering “what on earth am I watching” made me almost the perfect victim of this brilliant satire. LOVED IT
— Dominic Jones (@oddjones) July 24, 2023
Must admit the Gregg Wallace British Miracle Meat mockumentary had me for the first 10-15mins. Shows where we are in this country that this is almost believable.
— Paul (@PaulDLC88) July 24, 2023
Whoever came up with the very modest proposal to update Swift for Channel 4 deserves a payrise. Nice to see a TV channel can still take risks. Not sure it was 100% successful but it was a brave experiment at least. #Miraclemeat
— Dave. Just Dave. (@davidwhittam) July 24, 2023
Am I watching a big wind up here?
Cannibalism as a solution to the cost of living crisis? Surely this isn’t real #GreggWallace #TheBritishMiracleMeat— Arty Choke (@ArtyChoke2) July 24, 2023
I’m assuming the Gregg Wallace: The British Miracle Meat is a weird fake documentary & it’s really a Charlie Broooker esc/fake/ai show to prove a different point entirely.
— Ham... Mostly (@tarquydrawers) July 24, 2023
To anyone in the UK right now, Channel 4 has successfully made a scary & hilarious Black Mirror episode set in real life starring Gregg Wallace about human meat?! 😂 #MiracleMeat pic.twitter.com/Pkac6OwVae
— Alfie’s Movie Hub (@alfiemoviehub) July 24, 2023
Watching #miraclemeat on channel 4 reminded me of Ghostwatch! Ahh the memories. Take a bow @GreggAWallace 👏 👏 that was great TV. The man showing you about the factory was the most convincing! Dark thought-provoking TV.
— Ray Kane-Gunn DHT (@mrsgdepute) July 24, 2023
Just watching miricle meat on Channel 4 can’t believe that @michelrouxjr and @ GregWallace are doing this, Shocked to say the least. Probably one of the most respected chefs and supposedly a good food supplier and presenter # meat # British beef
— Steve James Butchery (@SteveJButchery) July 24, 2023
For his part, Wallace addressed the show on his Instagram account after it aired.
"Thank you for watching. I really enjoyed my first ever acting job," he wrote, adding in the caption: "Satire. See Jonathan Swift ‘A Modest Proposal’."
Gregg Wallace: The British Miracle Meat is available to watch now on Channel 4's steaming service.
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