John Torode is “preparing to sue” the BBC after being sacked from MasterChef for using “an extremely offensive racist term”.
Torode’s firing from the series arrived following a seven-month investigation into the behaviour of his co-star Gregg Wallace, which upheld an allegation that Torode had used racist language.
The celebrity chef said he had “no recollection” of making the comment and “does not believe that it happened”, claiming: “The enquiry could not even state the date or year of when I [am] meant to have said something wrong.”
It’s been reported that Torode is looking to take legal action over his sacking, with a source telling The Mirror: “John is preparing to launch the lawsuit against the BBC. He wants to pursue them for unfair dismissal.
“He’s telling people there is no proof of his supposed comment. It was not in a work capacity, it was just hearsay. John is determined to clear his name.”
Torode also claimed he discovered he’d been fired after reading media reports online.
His agent was reportedly called 11 minutes before his sacking was announced to the public and “hadn’t [had] a chance to call him” before the BBC and MasterChef production company Banijay UK released their statements.
On Tuesday (15 July), BBC director-general Tim Davie told BBC News that, while he was not directly involved with the matter, he was told of the recommendation to not renew Torode’s contract and was “happy that the team were taking action”.
When asked exactly what Torode had said, Davie replied: “I’m not going to give you the exact term, because I think, frankly, it was a serious racist term, which does not get to be acceptable in any way, shape or form.”
According to The Times, Banijay’s decision was spurred on by Torode’s attempts to avoid being mired in the Wallace scandal, which saw him enlist lawyers.
“In the end, it was easier for us to say that’s that, “a BBC source said, with another stating: “We saw the allegations, we took them very seriously and we were clear it needed to be dealt with. Do you want to drag the show through months of ‘he said, she said’ or do you just want to move on?”
The report was initially investigating Wallace’s behaviour, and substantiated 45 claims of misconduct against Torode’s co-host, including one of unwelcome physical contact.
Wallace, who joined the revamped version of the show with Torode in 2005, has also been fired, and has previously accused the BBC of exposing him to “trial by media”.
The Independent has contacted the BBC and Torode for comment.
