MasterChef co-host John Torode has said allegations surrounding Gregg Wallace are ‘truly upsetting’ as he addressed the reports of on-set misconduct for the first time.
The Australian TV host, who has presented the show alongside Wallace since 2005, said he “loves being part of” the programme and “will continue to be a part of it” after his long-time co-host stepped back amid an investigation into his behaviour.
Torode, who was best man at Wallace’s wedding in 2016, said in a statement on Instagram he found the recent reports “truly upsetting” and the “thought of anyone who has appeared on our show not having a brilliant experience is awful to hear”.
“Since last Friday I have been away filming MasterChef overseas,”he wrote. “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.”
His statement comes after the BBC decided to axe two MasterChef Christmas specials as allegations of “groping” come to light.
Torode became a familiar face to TV audiences in 1996 as the resident chef on ITV’s This Morning before joining former greengrocer Gregg on MasterChef in 2005.
The men met in the 1990s when Wallace, greengrocer to London’s best restaurants for more than 20 years, began supplying one of Torode’s establishments.
Wallace told the PA news agency in 2007: “The first time we ever went for a drink together was when we started MasterChef.”
“John would never fraternise with suppliers,” he added.
Across the years there have been rumours that the men did not get along off-screen, although Wallace previously said he was “very fond” of Torode.
Speaking about a dinner he had with Torode, Wallace told PA in 2012: “We drank some very good red wine and we finished with a couple of brandies. We talked about love, life, weight loss, hair loss – I’m very fond of John.”
In 2017, Torode made headlines after claiming that he had “never been friends” with Wallace.
He said in an interview with The Mirror: “It’s funny, we’ve never been friends. 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, Torode was best man during Wallace’s wedding to Anne-Maire Sterpini in 2016 and, despite his attempts to seemingly distance himself from his co-host, Wallace said on an episode of 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.”
Last week Banijay UK, the production company behind the BBC show, announced that Wallace would be “stepping away from his role on MasterChef” following complaints from individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct.
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.
The new allegations came after the outlet reported claims from 13 people across a range of shows over a 17-year period, with many others since sharing their experiences.
His lawyers have previously strongly denied “he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”, according to BBC News.
A BBC spokesperson previously said the corporation takes any issues that are raised with it “seriously” and is clear that “any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated”. The broadcaster added that it would be “inappropriate” to comment amid the external review by Banijay UK.
