Masterchef star John Torode has posted on his social media for the first time since his former co-host Gregg Wallace released a bombshell statement after being sacked from the show

Masterchef host John Torode has taken the plunge and broken his social media silence, after staying silent on social media in the wake of Gregg Wallace’s sacking and statement earlier this week.

Earlier this week Gregg, 60, shared a statement in which he warned he would ‘not go quietly’ as it was revealed he had been sacked from the BBC show by its production company Banijay as 50 more people came forward to make allegations of misconduct – which Gregg denies. A scathing letter shared exclusively by the Mirror then revealed Gregg had been banned from the BBC.

Gregg’s statement and sacking comes as allegations of groping, flashing and making sexual comments that go back years came to light. While the 60-year-old has admitted using inappropriate language at times, he denies the more serious allegations and has now hired an “aggressive” lawyer who may challenge his axing.

As explosive events unfolded this week, John had avoided posting to social media but has since broken that social media silence today. TV chef John, 59, has opted to continue to ignore the scandal surrounding his former BBC co-host and opted to focus on his own career in two Instagram story posts shared this morning.

John Torode worked alongside Gregg Wallace on MasterChef but said the pair were ‘never friends’

The first video posted on John’s Instagram story is a re-share from Good Food, in which John cooks BBQ lamb cutlets – which John describes as an “in or out dish” meaning you can either cook the dish indoors or outdoors.

It was quickly followed by another share from John, which saw him stood alongside his wife Lisa Faulkner as they promote what they have coming up on today’s episode of John and Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen, which aired on ITV this morning. The married couple face the camera as Lisa explains: “We’ve just made the most delicious rice – Persian rice – with chicken thighs – absolutely gorgeous.”

John has broken his social media silence
“And, at the bottom of it there’s crispy, crispy rice. It’s all things rice in this recipe,” Lisa says as John then adds., while sweetly holding his wife’s arm: “It is all things nice and rice. We started off with your favourite thing ever, which is crispy rice, usually served with tuna and salmon but we did it with avocado and prawns…”

Lisa then replies: “We did. I served it. It’s all things rice on this recipe – I’ve lost the plot.” John then adds: “And then we did a mango one…” As Lisa explains: “We did sticky, salty coconut rice which sounds… is just delicious.”

John stood beside his wife Lisa Faulkner to discuss what they had cooked on their show

John continues to explain what else they made on the programme before ending the video with: “It’s been nice, it’s been rice it’s been… nice and ricey!”

The Masterchef host has remained silent on the bombshells surrounding Gregg Wallace – after previously revealing the pair were not friends outside of the show. His deafening silence came after he made one statement in response to the news of complaints about Gregg’s alleged misconduct in December.

Gregg Wallace released a statement as it was revealed he had been sacked from MasterChef (
Image:
BBC)

John’s statement shared in December read: “Since last Friday I have been away filming MasterChef overseas. I love my job, and I love MasterChef. I love being part of it and will continue to be part of it.

“During the last few days, I’ve been trying to make the best cookery programme, so being busy making the show and caring for our contestants has allowed me little time to think about anything else, but that has been hard.

“But as I hope everyone appreciates there is an investigation underway, which I fully support, so I cannot make any further comment at this stage and I hope that you all understand and respect my silence on the matter moving forward.”

John’s vow to remain silent on the matter has stood firm as he has not spoken out about the allegations surrounding Gregg since. John has previously said the pair were “never friends”, despite co-hosting MasterChef together since 2005.

“We’ve never been friends,” He told the Mirror in 2017. “It’s funny, 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. If I went to his house, he would feel like he wasn’t in control.”