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.
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.
In a statement, the BBC said that “this allegation – which involves an extremely offensive racist term being used in the workplace – was investigated and substantiated by the independent investigation led by the law firm, Lewis Silkin”.
Torode denies the allegation and “has stated he has no recollection of the alleged incident and does not believe that it happened” – and also said he knows any racial language “is wholly unacceptable in any environment”.
The 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 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.
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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.”
