John Torode says he will 'continue to be a part' of MasterChef amid Gregg Wallace scandal
On Tuesday night Gregg Wallace, 60, faced fresh allegations, ITV News Correspondent Geraint Vincent reports
John Torode has said he “loves being part of” MasterChef and “will continue to be a part of it”, after Gregg Wallace stepped back from the show amid an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
Australian-born Torode, who has presented the BBC One cooking show alongside Wallace since 2005, said in a statement on Instagram: "The thought of anyone who has appeared on our show not having a brilliant experience is awful to hear, and I have found the recent press reports truly upsetting."
He added: “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.”
He added: “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.”
On Tuesday the BBC announced that two MasterChef celebrity Christmas specials, a Celebrity MasterChef Christmas Cook Off and a Strictly Festive Extravaganza, have been pulled from the broadcaster's festive schedule.
“As we have said, MasterChef is an amazing competition which is life-changing for the chefs taking part and the current series of MasterChef: The Professionals is continuing as planned," the corporation said.
“The celebrity Christmas specials are obviously a different type of show and in the current circumstances we have decided not to broadcast them.”
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Three repeats of BBC Two’s Inside The Factory, in which Wallace stars, are also coming out of the schedule, but the current series of MasterChef: The Professionals remains on air.
Last week Banijay UK, the production company behind MasterChef, announced that Wallace would be “stepping away from his role” on the programme following complaints from individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct.
Banijay UK announced an “immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate” and said that Wallace was “committed to fully cooperating throughout the process”.
On Tuesday night Wallace, 60, faced fresh allegations with BBC News reporting that one woman said he touched her bottom after an event, and another said he pressed his crotch against her while filming on a different show.
His lawyers have previously strongly denied “he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”, according to BBC News.
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