Celebrity MasterChef viewers have expressed their confusion about John Torode’s presence on the new series, which began last night – and several months after he was sacked from the show.
The celebrity edition of the hit BBC cookery franchise started on Monday (17 November), with Torode joined by Grace Dent as his new co-host. But some viewers were left perplexed, having assumed that Torode’s dropping from the series meant he would no longer appear in any capacity.
“Did John not also step down from MasterChef? As he’s on BBC right now!?” tweeted one person.
Another added their surprise at Torode’s “return”: “Excellent to see John Torode back on MasterChef!!! So he should be!!”
However, this current edition of Celebrity MasterChef was filmed prior to the dramas of this summer, when both Torode and his long-time co-host Gregg Wallace were dropped from the franchise following an investigation. It will mark Torode’s final run as a MasterChef presenter.
In July, the BBC upheld a complaint that Torode had used “an extremely offensive racist term” during production – though Torode himself has said he has “no recollection” of using the term.
The ruling came several months after Wallace stepped away from the series amid complaints about his behaviour. A day before Torode was sacked, the BBC announced that more than half of the 83 complaints about Wallace’s off-screen behaviour had been upheld. A published report on the allegations stated that Wallace had been accused of making sexual jokes and asking for the phone numbers of female production staff.
Dent, who assumed the role of Celebrity MasterChef co-host while Wallace’s presence on the show was still in flux, said over the weekend that she kept her distance from Wallace during her previous appearances as a guest critic on the show. She did, however, voice her continued support for Torode.
Next year will see the debut of a new series of the regular MasterChef, with Torode no longer appearing and Dent hosting alongside chef Anna Waugh.
