Ajay Rochester has revealed shocking behind-the-scenes secrets about The Biggest Loser Australia.

The 56-year-old, who hosted the series from 2006 to 2009, branded the Channel 10 series ‘toxic’ on Monday during a lengthy radio interview.

‘It was always just like, when is someone going to die?’ Ajay said during an interview on The Kyle and Jackie O Show.

The TV veteran claimed several contestants underwent procedures to correct major health issues caused by the show.

‘There were a bunch of secret surgeries that went on,’ she told listeners.

‘People were rushed off… days before the finale [and] had surgery because it’s one of those things that through extreme weight loss can actually be affected,’ she said.

Ajay Rochester has revealed shocking behind-the-scenes secrets about The Biggest Loser Australia. (Pictured on the show)

Ajay Rochester has revealed shocking behind-the-scenes secrets about The Biggest Loser Australia. (Pictured on the show)

The 56-year-old, who hosted the series from 2006 to 2009, branded the Channel 10 series 'toxic' on Monday during a lengthy radio interview

The 56-year-old, who hosted the series from 2006 to 2009, branded the Channel 10 series ‘toxic’ on Monday during a lengthy radio interview

‘And people had all sorts of [issues] like deep vein thrombosis and thrush,’ she continued.

While Ajay does not believe producers intentionally put contestants’ ‘lives at risk’, she described filming as the ‘Wild West’ with no rules and the cast was ‘pushed and pushed’.

She recalled that on her first day on the show, she witnessed how producers had refused contestants a food break.

‘And I was like, “It’s five hours, six hours, seven hours in and they haven’t eaten… these people need to eat,”‘ she recalled.

‘And they’re [producers] like, “No, they don’t.” I’m like, yes, they do.’

Elsewhere in the chat, Ajay also revealed that the contestants once had to endure a revolting plumbing issue during filming for one season.

Known as the ‘lawn incident’, Ajay said the trouble started when sewage overflowed onto a grassed area at the main location.

‘So, basically… the poop would overflow into the lawn,’ she explained.

While Ajay does not believe producers intentionally put contestants' 'lives at risk', she described filming as the 'Wild West' with no rules and the cast was 'pushed and pushed'. Pictured with winner Adro Sarnelli in the 2006 season finale

While Ajay does not believe producers intentionally put contestants’ ‘lives at risk’, she described filming as the ‘Wild West’ with no rules and the cast was ‘pushed and pushed’. Pictured with winner Adro Sarnelli in the 2006 season finale

Shannon Ponton, a former Biggest loser trainer, defended the series in a recent appearance on KIIS FM's Robin and Kip with Corey Oates show. (Pictured)

Shannon Ponton, a former Biggest loser trainer, defended the series in a recent appearance on KIIS FM’s Robin and Kip with Corey Oates show. (Pictured)

‘And there was muddy poop. I’m talking a river of muddy poop across the lawn,’ she continued.

‘And they had contestants doing those crazy challenges where you had to move a tonne of bricks from one end to the other to win a Mars Bar to get immunity, so you don’t get kicked out.’

In a frightening twist, Ajay said that contestants started to develop a ‘virus-like’ skin complaint on their legs from ‘wading through crap’.

She added, ‘You know, I think it’s just going to show that they would put them in situations that they just really didn’t care.

‘They just really wanted the shots. They wanted those extreme things.’

Meanwhile, Shannon Ponton, a former trainer on the show, has come out to defend the series.

The 52-year-old coach insisted that producers never pressured him to use motivational tactics like yelling and screaming at the contestants to help them lose weight.

‘I was nobody’s puppet, and everything I did was done with a pure heart, and of course, there are times where you become frustrated,’ Ponton said on a recent appearance on KIIS FM’s Robin and Kip with Corey Oates show.

Pictured: The Biggest Loser trainers in 2010

Pictured: The Biggest Loser trainers in 2010

‘What’s fascinating is that people were saying, “Oh, you’re just belittling these people because they’re fat. You’re making a show on them because they’re fat”, and it’s not true.

‘That’s how trainers and coaches are in their primal state,’ he said.

Ponton appeared to take aim at a new Netflix documentary about the US iteration of the TV hit.

Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser features many former contestants who are highly critical of the show’s format.

‘It was everything that I thought it was going to be,’ an unimpressed Ponton said of the streaming success.

‘[Contestants] were looking for, I guess, a way out [rather than] to take responsibility for where they’re at,’ he said of the US cast members who appeared in Fit for TV.

The Biggest Loser Australia disappeared from screens in 2017 due to falling ratings after running for 11 seasons.

The show debuted on Channel 10 in 2006 and was initially a ratings success, as viewers tuned in to watch contestants strive to lose weight for the chance to win a massive cash prize.