John Torode, the host of MasterChef, has stated that he was the target of a racial language accusation that was substantiated after an investigation into co-presenter Gregg Wallace’s actions.
According to the assessment, which was commissioned by Banijay UK, the production company behind MasterChef, 45 of the 83 accusations made against Wallace were proven true. Tai’s additional accusations, including one for using racial language, were also determined to be true.
Torode acknowledged in an Instagram post that he was the one who was accused of using racist words, but he claimed to have “no recollection of the incident” and to be “shocked and saddened” by the accusation.
“I am aware of speculation that I am one of the two other individuals against whom an allegation has been upheld,” his statement said.
“For the sake of transparency, I confirm that I am the individual who is alleged to have used racial language on one occasion.
“The allegation is that I did so sometime in 2018 or 2019, in a social situation, and that the person I was speaking with did not believe that it was intended maliciously and that I apologised immediately afterwards.
Wallace was fired from MasterChef before the investigation was made public, and one of the accusations of “unwelcome physical contact” was confirmed.
Wallace stated that he “never set out to harm or humiliate” and expressed his “deepest apologies for any distress caused.” Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, stated that no decision has been made on this year’s season of MasterChef, further destabilising the cooking show.
When allegations of offensive sexual language against Torode’s co-host, Gregg Wallace, were first made public by BBC News last year, the MasterChef issue began.
As many more people came forward with accusations against Wallace to BBC News, he was fired last week. He has consistently refuted the allegations. As part of an investigation into Wallace’s behaviour, over 40 of his charges were also upheld on Monday.
Davie called the accusations against Torode “a serious racist term which does not get to be acceptable in any way, shape or form” in an interview with BBC News on Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s really important we are taking this seriously,” he said. “We’ve drawn a line in the sand.”
In his statement on Tuesday, Torode said: “Although I haven’t heard from anyone at the BBC or Banijay, I am seeing and reading that I’ve been ‘sacked’ from MasterChef.
“I repeat that I have no recollection of what I’m accused of. The enquiry could not even state the date or year of when I am meant to have said something wrong.”
