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Viewers horrified as Gregg Wallace 'eats human steak' in Black Mirror-style show

The British Miracle Meat on Channel 4 horrified viewers, who were shown one woman's arm being "scooped out" to be used as human meat, so she could pay for her bills

Channel 4 viewers were horrified as MasterChef star Greg Wallace appeared to eat "human flesh" in a bizarre "documentary" – but it wasn't all it seemed.

The one-off show, The British Miracle Meat, gave the audience a look into a secret laboratory where workers mass-produced "engineered human meat" in water tanks.


Viewers were left scratching their heads as they found out the company was encouraging people to become a "meat donor" for cash as an initiative to beat the cost-of-living crisis.

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But eagle-eyed viewers spotted the show thanking legendary satirist Jonathan Swift in the credits – showing that, thankfully, it was a spoof.


The show saw Gregg meeting a 67-year-old donor, Gillian, who agreed to sell her flesh to cover two weeks of her energy bills.

Presenter Greg Wallace visited a factory where it mass-produced 'engineered human meat'
Presenter Greg Wallace visited a factory where it mass-produced 'engineered human meat'(Image: Channel 4)
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She even confessed in the show: "'Am I excited about donating? No.


"You know, there's something wrong when you've got to jump on a bus and go and have some flesh scooped out of your arm for money."

Gillian was concerned about he pain before she was sent to the operating theatre.

And Greg asked the company's spokesperson, Tamara, of the amount of flesh each person can be extracted.


He met donor, Gillian, who sold her flesh for cash to cover her energy bills
He met donor, Gillian, who sold her flesh for cash to cover her energy bills(Image: Channel 4)

She replied: "It's a deliberately variable measurement. With Gillian, for example, we have seen that she has an excellent fat-to-muscle ratio.

"So we should be able to extract a snooker ball, or possibly even up to an orange."


During a blind taste test, Gregg invited Michelin-star chef Michel Roux Jr to try three steaks.

The first one came a bit rough and "tough to chew" and Michel said it came with a strong flavour.

Gregg saw the production of 'Good Harvest steaks' that were made 'using human cells'
Gregg saw the production of 'Good Harvest steaks' that were made 'using human cells'(Image: Channel 4)

Gregg then pulled out a tasting note from the package and said: "These Good Harvest steaks have been cultivated from Alison, 45 years old, NHS nurse, and part-time delivery driver."

He added that might have explained why the meat came "stringy".

Twitter viewers were stunned by the horrifying satire.


One shared: "Just caught the end of some kind of f***ed up Black Mirror style s*** on Greg Wallace's 'The British Miracle Meat' in which a scared woman was having her flesh harvested to pay her energy bills.

He and chef Michel tried out the steaks in a blind tasting test
He and chef Michel tried out the steaks in a blind tasting test(Image: Channel 4)
The 'engineered steak' came with information about the donor
The 'engineered steak' came with information about the donor(Image: Channel 4)

"That couldn't have been real surely? It's impossible to tell nowadays."

Another penned: "What? It tastes the same and it costs less...?"

Other viewers took to Twitter to point out why it was a spoof.


One said: "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."

Facing the backlash, Gregg has responded in a statement.

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"Thank you for watching, I really enjoyed my first ever acting job," he wrote.

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