The MasterChef host has publicly welcomed Grace Dent as his new co-host on the BBC programme.
John Torode has made a statement gushing about Grace Dent’s new role on MasterChef(Image: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
John Torode appears to be moving on swiftly following Gregg Wallace’s dramatic exit from MasterChef, as he sings the praises of his new co-host Grace Dent, while staying tight-lipped on his former presenting partner of nearly 20 years.
Speaking at the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards, the 59-year-old chef made a telling remark that hints at the true nature of his off-camera relationship with Wallace, who was quietly dropped from the show amid mounting allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour. Torode told the Mail : “We’ve been filming MasterChef, which has been great and that’s been brilliant.
John Torode has made a statement gushing about Grace Dent’s new role on MasterChef(Image: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
“We’ve moved to Birmingham and me and Grace are having a wonderful time. She’s doing a great job. So, it’s onwards and upwards.”
His glowing endorsement of his new co-star also seemed to draw a firm line under the past. There was no mention of Wallace, who Torode had worked with since 2005.
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Wallace’s departure from the show in November came under a cloud of serious accusations, including claims he made explicit sexual jokes, shared intimate details of his sex life with colleagues, and exposed himself on set wearing nothing but a sock.
The BBC cancelled two Christmas specials and launched an internal investigation into his conduct through production company Banijay, after at least 13 formal complaints emerged across 17 years. Some of these complaints were made by former MasterChef contestants and high-profile guests.
Torode has been distancing himself from his former co-host Gregg Wallace(Image: BBC/Shine TV)
While Wallace has denied any behaviour amounting to sexual harassment, his career with MasterChef appears to be over, and Torode seems determined to focus on the future.
This month it was revealed that Grace Dent had already been invited to Torode’s home, in what many saw as a thinly veiled snub. Wallace and Torode never achieved this level of closeness, despite fronting one of the BBC’s most successful franchises together for nearly two decades.
Speaking at the Ideal Home Show, Torode’s wife Lisa Faulkner confirmed: “She [Grace] came over for tea and I was really excited she has been in my house. I was like ‘I love you’. We made tea and scones, cheese scones, and sticky toffee madeleines.”
By contrast, Torode and Wallace never socialised off-screen. In an interview that has now resurfaced from 2017, Torode admitted, “We’ve never been friends. We’ve not been to each other’s houses… He’s so OCD, he wouldn’t know what to do. He’d build it up in his mind for three days, and probably make himself quite sick, then he’d have an argument with his wife and not turn up.”
Torode has not publicly commented on the investigation into Wallace’s behaviour, but his Instagram activity around the time of the revelations suggested he was distancing himself from the situation entirely.
Now MasterChef has left its London base after two decades, and relocated to Birmingham’s former Banana Warehouse on Fazeley Street, where the new judging duo have reportedly hit the ground running.
Torode called the move “brilliant” and has described working with Dent as a “wonderful time”, which stands out in comparison to his former indifference towards Wallace.
Dent, 51, has been a familiar face on MasterChef for over a decade after regularly appearing as a guest critic. She even competed in the Battle of the Critics special last year. In a statement she made to the BBC after being selected as one of the new show hosts, she said: “It’s more than a dream to me… I feel very lucky to be stepping in.”
Torode echoed the sentiment, saying: “She has been an excellent guest, an inspiring critic and also set some incredible challenges. The love of food, the love of MasterChef, and that unquestionable expertise, makes Grace the perfect person to step in alongside me.”
