This was published 4 years ago
Ex-MasterChef contestant represents ex-MasterChef contestant
The sexual assault charges against former MasterChef contestant Ben Ungermann are serious.
Ungermann, who featured in the 2017 season, disappeared from last year’s MasterChef Australia: Back to Win with little explanation in May. It then emerged that Victoria Police had charged him in March with sexual assault.
Journalists covering an online hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday found their interest piqued when Ungermann’s instructing solicitor appeared on screen.
He turned out to be West Australian lawyer Ben Bullock, who rose to modest fame by …. appearing as a contestant on MasterChef. In fact, a contestant in the 2017 series alongside Ungermann.
Ungermann is fighting the charges, with a contested hearing due to take place on May 17.
It’s unlikely Bullock will appear for Ungermann in the future - the court was told “experienced senior counsel” had been engaged to lead the defence.
Stephen Brook is a special correspondent for The Age and CBD columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously deputy editor of The Sunday Age. He is a former media editor of The Australian and spent six years in London working for The Guardian.Connect via X or email.
Samantha Hutchinson is the AFR's National Reporter. Most recently, she was CBD columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Before that, she covered Victorian and NSW politics and business for The Australian, the AFR and BRW Magazine.Connect via X or email.