A top contender on the popular Channel 10 show was forcefully pulled out of the show for reportedly breaking the rules.

The well-viewed reality cooking show MasterChef Australia has encountered a slight bump with one of the remaining contestants. 24-year-old Mat Bayer was expelled for having a smartphone in possession. One of the rules of the show prohibits all contestants from having any kind of gadget while on the process filming the season. Bayer, an IT tech support personnel from Victoria, was disqualified for charges of accessing the Internet for recipes. The episode won't be shown for another month, and Bayer's spot will be replaced by a previously-eliminated contestant.

Just days after the contestants were flown to New York, Bayer was sent home when producers discovered the smartphone hidden in his belongings. The contestants were asked to surrender all of their cookbooks, a twist that led to the shameful incident. According to the show's producers, Mayer had the device for a total of six weeks. There are still no comments released by Channel 10 or FreMantle Media regarding this surprising ending of Bayer's MasterChef Australia run.

Mat Bayer stood out from the other 23 MasterChef season 3 hopefuls with his loud tattoos and piercings. Regardless of his poor initial performance, he remained a strong contender as he safely swifts by some of the show's toughest eliminations yet. The smartphone incident is not a first for MasterChef Australia, with past contestant Chris Badenoch allegedly using a cell phone during his stay on the show. Badenoch denies any involvement with the usage of a cell phone up while he was on the show up to this day.