John Torode has broken his silence after the news Gregg Wallace is stepping away from his MasterChef duties.
The Australian chef has remained silence ever since an investigation was launched by the BBC show's production company into misconduct claims against Wallace, who was the co-host of the cooking show. Wallace has denied allegations of inappropriate sexual comments he is said to have made.
Now, Torode has finally spoken out. He said: “The thought of anyone who has appeared on our show not having a brilliant experience is awful to hear.”
Taking to Instagram on Wednesday afternoon, almost a week after the news of the allegations against Wallace, he wrote: "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.”
His words come after Wallace unfollowed his co-host on social media. Wallace, 60, also unfollowed Torode's wife, Lisa Faulkner on Instagram, as they remained silent in the days following the accusations against Wallace.
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BBC/Shine TV)Previously, Torode had bluntly claimed in a previous interview the pair weren't friends. The duo have presented the hugely popular BBC1 programme since 2005, but Torode seemingly does his best to avoid his colleague when the cameras stop rolling.
When Torode spoke to Sunday Mirror in 2017, the now 59-year-old chef said: "We’ve never been friends." Torode, from Melbourne, Australia, described his colleague as "so OCD" at the time, adding: "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."
On Monday, Wallace issued an emotional apology after sparking outrage after posting a string of videos at the weekend arguing that those making claims against him were "a handful of middle class women of a certain age".
Former Newsnight host Kirsty Wark is among 13 people who have accused the MasterChef presenter of making inappropriate sexual comments, BBC News reported. Kirsty appeared on the BBC cooking show in 2011 and has claimed that Wallace told “jokes of a sexualised nature" on two occasions during filming.
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greggawallace/Instagram)Image:
PA)Wark said: "I think people were uncomfortable. We were essentially a captive audience. People looked embarrassed and just got on with their work. I was actually more angry than anything else, because I thought it was so inappropriate."
Wallace, who started a greengrocer company in 1989 which grew to a turnover of £7.5 million, is cooperating with the probe that is being led by MasterChef production company Banijay UK. The company, which also makes Big Brother, and the BBC have released official statements on the investigation. The probe is addressing all the complaints, including an allegation the former market trader came into the MasterChef studios starkers apart from a strategically placed sock before performing a "silly dance". The witness alleged that he was "very touchy-feely" and made "disgusting sex-related jokes".
A BBC spokesperson said: "We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them. We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.
"Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them."
A spokesperson for Banijay UK said: "This week the BBC received complaints from individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with presenter Gregg Wallace on one of our shows. Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate. While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process."
Wallace's lawyers say "it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature", BBC News reported.
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