MasterChef host John Torode has been accused of using racist language in two separate incidents, with one allegedly happening in front of his co-star Gregg Wallace
Amanda Holden has publicly backed MasterChef host John Torode after he faced allegations of using a racist remark on set. The 59-year old BBC presenter was implicated in an investigation involving his former co-star Gregg Wallace, who has been removed from his role on the popular cooking show.
The probe, which lasted nearly a year, looked into claims of misconduct against Wallace, with around 50 people coming forward with fresh allegations, according to BBC News. However, Wallace has denied all allegations.
It has since emerged that two separate allegations were made against other individuals, including one against Torode for allegedly using racist language. Addressing the claims, Torode stated: "Following publication of the Executive Summary of the investigation into Gregg Wallace while working on MasterChef, I am aware of speculation that I am one of the two other individuals against whom an allegation has been upheld.
"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 in a malicious way and that I apologised immediately afterwards."
He continued: "I have absolutely no recollection of any of this, and I do not believe that it happened. However, I want to be clear that I've always had the view that any racial language is wholly unacceptable in any environment. I'm shocked and saddened by the allegation as I would never wish to cause anyone any offence.", reports the Mirror.
Torode shared his statement on his Instagram account, opting to disable comments to prevent responses. Nonetheless, Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda appeared to back the presenter, being one of the 5,000 individuals to like the post.
Other celebrities expressing their support included Strictly Come Dancing's Nancy Xu and This Morning's resident cleaning expert Lynsey.
This followed closely on the heels of Wallace's statement, where he expressed being "deeply sorry for any distress caused". He further stated that he "never set out to harm or humiliate" following the report, which upheld one allegation of "unwelcome physical contact".
In total, 45 out of 83 allegations against Wallace were substantiated, according to the report by MasterChef production company Banijay UK and led by law firm Lewis Silkin.
The report revealed that the "majority of the allegations against Wallace (94%) related to behaviour which is said to have occurred between 2005 and 2018", with only one allegation substantiated after 2018.
MasterChef made a comeback to our televisions in 2005, after a four-year hiatus, initially as MasterChef Goes Large and later rebranded simply as MasterChef. Two Christmas specials that were set to air during the festive season last year were withdrawn by the BBC amidst an ongoing investigation.
The BBC released a statement saying it has informed Wallace that the broadcaster has "no plans to work with him in the future" and welcomes the results of the investigation.
"The investigation details a substantial number of allegations of inappropriate conduct spanning 19 years. This behaviour falls below the values of the BBC and the expectations we have for anyone who works with or for us," stated the BBC.
"Although the full extent of these issues were not known at the relevant time, opportunities were missed to address this behaviour – both by the production companies running MasterChef and the BBC. We accept more could and should have been done sooner.
"We want to thank all those who took part in the investigation, including those who first raised concerns directly with the BBC in November last year. We apologise to everyone who has been impacted by Mr Wallace's behaviour."
The BBC further added: "Lewis Silkin's findings include two further allegations which were upheld, relating to other individuals. The BBC takes these findings very seriously and we have asked Banijay UK to take action to address these issues, which is underway. This will be completed as a priority.
"The BBC will not be commenting further at this stage, but we are clear we expect the highest standards of respect at work to be upheld on the production."
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