Wednesday night’s Redemption Challenge saw almost all of the eliminated MasterChef Australia contestants return for a second chance at the title. However, fan favourite Steve was noticeably missing.

Steven’s absence was certainly noticed on social media, with fans questioning where he was.

“Is Steve there?” one person commented, while another added, “Where is Steve!?”.

Unfortunately, the Home Cook had to miss the Redemption Challenge because his mum was sick.

“My mother is in hospital and is very unwell,” he told Yahoo Lifestyle in a statement. “My father passed away during Covid, so I need to support my mother and it would be unfair on my family to return to filming with this in mind.”

Stephen had “mixed feelings” when he found out about the Redemption Challenge.

The loveable cook said that he had “quite a few mixed emotions” when he found out that he had the opportunity to return for the Challenge.

“I’m worried because I think what’s going to happen? And, I’m worried about whether I’ll get through it, and what will I have to do?” He said.

He said that while he was upset to be eliminated, he was also overwhelmed when he was told about the second chance opportunity.

“[In the moment] You’re disappointed because you’re not there, then you’re disappointed because you’ve not with your friends, you are disappointed because you’re not in the competition,” he explained.

“But suddenly you think, ‘That pressure is gone’ and it’s great. And then someone says, ‘You could be coming back next week and it’s like, ‘Oh, my God, the pressures back on!”

Who won the Redemption Challenge?

The Redemption Challenge saw nine of the eliminated contestants compete in a cook off. It was Snez and Sav who were judged to have the best dishes. However, Sav won the challenge and she retentered the MasterChef competition.

Watch MasterChef Australia from Sunday – Wednesday on Channel 10 and 10 Play.

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