John Torode has been sacked from MasterChef after the BBC upheld a complaint against the presenter involving “an extremely offensive racist term”.
It comes just over 24 hours after a report upheld 45 allegations of misconduct by Torode’s former co-presenter Gregg Wallace, including one of unwelcome physical contact, which saw him fired from the long-running cookery show.
Now the BBC has confirmed that Torode, who has hosted MasterChef since 2005, has also been dropped after an allegation of racist language used by the star was substantiated during an investigation into Wallace’s behaviour.
However, the celebrity chef said he had not been informed about his sacking from the BBC or the cookery show’s production company Banijay UK, and instead learnt the news while reading media reports. The Independent has contacted the BBC and Banijay for comment.
On Monday (14 July), Torode, 59, confirmed that he was being investigated over his language, but said he had “no recollection of the incident” and was “shocked and saddened” by the allegation.
“I’d hoped that I’d have some say in my exit from a show I’ve worked on since its relaunch in 2005, but events in the last few days seem to have prevented that,” Torode said in a statement.
“Over the past few months, I have been considering my life and the shape of it now and in the future,” he continued. revealing it was “time to pass the cutlery to someone else”.
In a statement, the BBC said that the allegation against Torode involved “an extremely offensive racist term being used in the workplace” and was investigated and substantiated by the independent investigation led by the law firm, Lewis Silkin”.
Australian-British star Torode, who shot to fame as a chef on ITV daytime show This Morning, denies the allegation and said he knows any racial language “is wholly unacceptable in any environment”.
The corporation’s statement continued: “The BBC takes this upheld finding extremely seriously. We will not tolerate racist language of any kind and, as we have already said, we told Banijay UK, the makers of MasterChef, that action must be taken. John Torode’s contract on MasterChef will not be renewed.”
Reports in The Sun said Torode had been asked to leave the show and claim he had mental health issues following the allegation. The presenter has already shot an unaired series alongside Wallace – and the BBC has said it is still unsure what to do with the episodes.
Torode added in his own statement: “I will watch fondly from afar as I now focus on the many other exciting projects that I have been working towards. My tummy will be grateful for a rest after 20 years of eating, but what a joy it has been.
“ Life is everchanging and ever moving & sometimes personal happiness and fulfilment lay elsewhere. Thank you for the many years of MasterChef.”
The decision to drop Torode arrives after it was revealed his MasterChef co-host Wallace had also been fired from the series after a seven-month investigation into his behaviour upheld more than half of the 83 allegations against him, including inappropriate sexual language and being in a state of undress.
Wallace said he is “deeply sorry for any distress” caused after the findings and that he “never set out to harm or humiliate” anyone with his behaviour.
The presenter faced multiple accusations, including claims that he made inappropriate sexual jokes, asked for the phone numbers of female production staff, and behaved unprofessionally around female colleagues on set.
The report noted that during the course of the investigation, which was over a seven-month period, Wallace was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, and said that the findings should be viewed in the context of his neurodiversity.
In his statement, Wallace, 60, added: “I’m relieved that the Banijay report fully recognises that my behaviour changed profoundly in 2018. Some of my humour and language missed the mark. I never set out to harm or humiliate. I always tried to bring warmth and support to MasterChef, on screen and off.
“After nearly 20 years on the show, I now see that certain patterns, shaped by traits I’ve only recently begun to understand, may have been misread. I also accept that more could have been done, by others and by myself, to address concerns earlier.
“A late autism diagnosis has helped me understand how I communicate and how I’m perceived. I’m still learning.”
He praised the show’s production company, Banijay, saying they had “given me great support, and I thank them”. However, he criticised the BBC for “exposing” him to “trial by media fuelled by rumour and clickbait”.
A statement from Wallace’s lawyers last November when reports first surfaced, said that it “is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.
The relationship between Torode and Wallace, who have both presented the cooking programme since 2005, has always been mired in complication.
Despite being Wallace’s best man in 2016, Torode later claimed he had never been friends with his co-host, telling The Mirror in 2017: “We’ve not been to each other’s houses. If we go away to somewhere like South Africa, we do things separately. If we do go out for a drink, I’ll invariably be at one end of a big old table and he’ll be at the other.”
However, Wallace had a different view, telling ITV series Lorraine that same year: “I film with John six or seven months of the year, so we are very close to each other physically, and emotionally we are very close to each other. What’s great about having a partnership is that if one of you is a bit off, a bit down, the other one naturally steps up, so I rely on John a lot.”
In 2022, Torode was made an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, for services to food and charity.
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