Why 'MasterChef' UK 2016 Winner Jane Devonshire Kept a Big Secret From Judges
Jane Devonshire, the 2016 "MasterChef" winner, refused to let a 10-year struggle with cancer put her down. Devonshire bested two other finalists on Friday night's BBC One screening, with her winning menu of winkles and cockles on toast, curried lamb and rhubarb, and custard.
This Hampshire mother of four told The Telegraph that she did not reveal her health condition to the show's judges because she wanted to compete according to her ability and not have sympathy get in the way of winning.
The 50-year-old told the outlet Saturday, "I wanted to be judged only on the cooking. Gregg and John didn't know. I didn't want any sympathy for the cancer. It wasn't relevant."
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Her big secret was found out when she and other contestants were to be flown to Mexico for filming; Devonshire felt compelled to reveal her medical history for insurance purposes. On the finale night, the program's six million viewers were given a peek into the lives of the top three remaining. The teary-eyed audience then found out Devonshire had been dealt the hand of death years back but survived her bout with cancer, now being in remission for the three years.
Throughout filming, the judges, John Torode and Gregg Wallace, did not have an inkling of what Devonshire shared regarding her condition. The producers only knew when the Mexico flight came up.
The MasterChef winner shared that, whereas surviving was a good part of her life, she had not wanted anybody on the show to know because her condition did not define her as a person.
She said, "…There are so many people going through this but you are more than that. It is not who you are."
According to Good To Know, this cancer survivor had gone through chemotherapy and radiotherapy when she had been diagnosed with breast cancer ten years ago. Six years after, her cancer had spread to her liver. Prognosis on her condition was not very good.
Devonshire talked about that time as being "dark" and "dreadful" for her and her family. But after undergoing surgery, she had gone into remission. The success of her surgery gave her the courage to give the competition a hand, especially that her son Ben had been pushing her to do so for some time.
After her win, on being asked what her plans were, Devonshire replied, "I am just looking forward to the next bit of my life. I will keep on doing what I love and maybe at the age of 50 I can start again and make cooking my career."
She added via Mirror, "Hopefully people won't say oh that poor lady has been ill, they'll say oh that's the lady who won Masterchef. I can't stress too much what Masterchef has meant. If you are one of the lucky ones to get through cancer you move on---and that is what Masterchef was all about."
