MasterChef viewers are left horrified as Anurag dismembers a LIVE crab

MasterChef viewers were left horrified during Wednesday’s semi-final when one contestant appeared to dismember a live crab before cooking it.

During the tense semi-final, the final four contestants had to go head-to-head in the iconic Chef’s Table challenge, cooking at three-Michelin-star rated restaurant Core. 

They had to recreate an array of owner Clare Smyth’s iconic dishes in the pressure-packed challenge to gain their place in the hotly-anticipated final.

Contestant Anurag was tasked with creating an array of dishes made from crab, including a fresh crab salad with sabayon.

However, he left viewers ‘disgusted’ when preparing the dish as he appeared to rip the claws and legs off the crab while it was still alive.

In the ‘disgusting’ scenes, Anurag picked up a crab and put it on a chopping board, while its legs seemed to be moving, and a second crab in a metal dish was also alive.

He then immediately got at work ripping off the claws and legs off the crustacean before cooking it, all while the crab appeared to still be moving.

Anurag claimed he had never prepared crab before, saying: ‘I am touching crab for the first time in my life today, other than eating it in restaurants.’ 

He also commented about how ‘hard’ it was to dismember the crab as he prepared it for cooking, while it seemed to still be alive. 

Viewers were quick to take to Twitter to share their shock over the ‘disgusting’ scenes, voicing how unimpressed they were at the ‘horrific’ moment.

One person wrote: ‘BBC did I really just see one of the chefs rip the claws and legs off a live crab? Please tell me I’m wrong.’

Another said: ‘I rewound it a couple of times and I’m certain they ripped the legs off a live crab,’ while a third added: ‘D-did they just rip a crab alive?? Disgusting.’

A fourth fumed: ‘Was watching UK Masterchef until someone pulled a live crab apart,’ and another penned: ‘That was genuinely shocking.’

MailOnline has contacted the BBC for comment.

Later in the episode, Anurag was one of the three cooks to be selected to go through to the MasterChef grand final.

He was joined by Chariya and Omar in the final three, as it was Terri who failed to impress judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace with her dish of steak and chips.

Anurag admitted he was ‘beyond happiness’ after he was selected for the final three, while Omar said the decision had ‘blown’ his mind.

Speaking after narrowly missing out on Thursday’s final, Terri said she was still very ‘proud’ of herself for making it so far in the competition.

She said: ‘Without this competition, I wouldn’t have reached the level of cook I am now for years to come. It pushes you to be the best.’