Hell's Kitchen Season 3 Actually Had 13 Contestants

Since it premiered in 2005, the T.V. show "Hell's Kitchen" has kept viewers (and contestants) on their toes as hopeful chefs compete for a coveted job by impressing notoriously hard-to-please celeb chef Gordon Ramsay. Though the show is always exciting, eagle-eyed "Hell's Kitchen" fans may have noticed an inconsistency in Season 3 that could have altered the entire course of the series' history. Despite 12 hopeful contestants being featured in the third season's intro and throughout the first episode, a 13th competitor was initially included, though they soon disappeared. When the time came for contestants to present their signature dishes in the season's first episode, a contestant named J.R. appeared for a brief moment but vanished soon after.

While Rock Harper took home the "Hell's Kitchen" crown in Season 3, J.R. never got a chance to compete past the first episode. If you never noticed J.R., don't worry, you're not alone. It seems that the minds behind the series were careful to remove most traces of J.R., allowing them to almost entirely disappear from the single episode in which they were featured. That said, if you watch the episode in widescreen, you'll likely be able to spot J.R. in some group shots.

Nearly nothing is publicly known about J.R. or why they didn't make it past Episode 1 without a formal elimination. In fact, the disappearing contestant's name is only known because a nameplate with the initials J.R. can be seen among the others in one single frame.

Of course, the mystery surrounding this contestant has made many fans curious in the years since the episode aired in 2007, and the rumor mill has been hard at work trying to provide an explanation. One theory suggests that J.R. leaked information about the season and spoiled its contents. Alternatively, a fan theory posted on Reddit speculates that they may have spread false rumors about another Season 3 contestant, Joanna Dunn. As far as we can tell, none of these theories surrounding J.R. have been confirmed or even acknowledged by the showrunners, the other contestants, or Ramsay himself. The only certainty is that whatever occurred was likely serious, so much so that it kept J.R. from continuing past Episode 1.