The replacement for Celebrity MasterChef judge Gregg Wallace has been confirmed by the BBC as restaurant critic Grace Dent.
The 51-year-old, who appeared on MasterChef regularly as a guest judge, will be a judge on the upcoming 20th series of Celebrity MasterChef after Wallace stepped away from his BBC role amid an investigation into historical allegations of misconduct. Dent also previously appeared as a contestant on MasterChef: Battle Of The Critics.
She said: “I’ve been watching MasterChef since I was a girl sitting with my dad on the sofa. My whole family watches it. It’s all about uncovering and championing talent – and to have ended up in this position, is more than a dream to me. I’m so excited that I can’t eat, which is severely detrimental to a restaurant critic. I feel very lucky to be stepping in for the next Celebrity MasterChef.
“I can’t wait to meet the fresh celebrity faces for 2025.” John Torode, who has presented MasterChef since 2005, added: “I have loved working with Grace on MasterChef over the years. She has been an excellent guest, an inspiring critic and also set some incredible challenges. Expertise is what MasterChef is all about, from the contestants to our wonderful production team, to us as judges.
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BBC)“The love of food, the love of MasterChef, and that unquestionable expertise, makes Grace the perfect person to step in alongside me as judge for the forthcoming Celebrity MasterChef series.”
Kalpna Patel-Knight, the BBC’s head of entertainment, said: “Grace Dent is the perfect choice to step in for the next series of Celebrity MasterChef. Grace is not only an energetic and well-established member of the MasterChef team, but is also a world renowned food critic, so she will certainly keep the next batch of celebrities on their toes.”
Wallace stepped away from the BBC cookery show after a string of women came forward to make claims about him, including Newsnight star Kirsty Wark. As a result of the claims, Banijay UK, the show's production company, revealed it would be launching an external review looking at historical allegations of misconduct.
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BBC /Shine TV)He added fuel to the fire in a now-deleted Instagram video in which he blamed "middle-class women of a certain age" for complaining about him. He later apologised for his comment, writing: "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. 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… I hope that you all understand and respect my silence on the matter moving forward.”
The most recent series of MasterChef: The Professionals continued to air amid a storm of allegations against Wallace, with two MasterChef celebrity Christmas specials, a Celebrity MasterChef Christmas Cook Off and a Strictly Festive Extravaganza, pulled from the BBC’s festive schedule.
Wallace’s lawyers previously told the BBC “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.
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