BBC MasterChef star placed behind bars after becoming penniless and 'hooked on crack'

MasterChef contestant, Chris Tonner, 40, saw his Aberdeen business empire collapse during the oil downturn and split from his wife soon afterwards. With his finances in ruins and contact with his young son lost, he turned to hard drugs, triggering a crime spree that landed him behind bars.

At Aberdeen Sheriff Court, his solicitor Neil McRobert told how Tonner's life "just crashed" after losing everything. He said: "His businesses failed, and his marriage broke down. His contact with his son broke down as a result. Effectively, his whole life just crashed. And the way he dealt with it, unfortunately, was to start using heroin and crack cocaine. He says he is absolutely disgusted by his offending."

In August 2021, police caught Tonner behind the wheel of a stolen Hyundai. Later that month, officers watched as he tried the handles of two locked cars before climbing inside a third. He was arrested inside the black Skoda Octavia.

While on bail in October of that year, he stole four bottles of perfume worth £90 from Superdrug in Aberdeen's Bon Accord shopping centre. A month later, he broke into another car and swiped a passport, headphones and a jumpstart kit. Although the £70 haul was later recovered, Tonner was jailed for a month at HMP Grampian in Peterhead.

The court heard in 2022 that the chef was attempting to get back on track, Mr McRobert said: "I am not aware of any new offending. There is still drug use, but it's more controlled than it was."

Fiscal deputy Kirsty Martin revealed officers stopped Tonner at 5am during one of his offences. He falsely claimed he had just bought the car, but was unable to provide proof of ownership, insurance or paperwork. The actual owner later confirmed she had parked it the night before.

Tonner admitted to stealing a car and driving without insurance, as well as intent to commit theft, breaking into a vehicle and shoplifting. Sheriff David Clapham ordered him to do 100 hours of community service and banned him from the road for six months.

It's a dramatic fall from grace for the businessman who appeared on Junior MasterChef in 1998 and used that as a springboard to launch his catering career. He was a well-known face in the city as the oil cash flowed, and he ran two busy restaurants, The Adelphi Kitchen and Cue. But when the energy industry hit hard times, the money dried up, and in 2016, he was forced to pull the plug and lay off all 20 of his staff.