John Torode, 59, breaks silence on Gregg Wallace report after MasterChef star dragged into allegations saga: ‘Shocked and saddened!’
John Torode, 59, has addressed the recent investigation into his MasterChef co-star Gregg Wallace that found 45 out 83 claims of misconduct were “substantiated”.
Wallace stepped back from November last year as the investigation was launched and was officially sacked from his role earlier this month ahead of the investigation’s publication.
Torode has now spoken out after 45 of the 83 allegations were upheld by an independent law firm.
“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,” he began.
“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.”
Torode went on: “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.
Torode’s comments come after a seven-month investigation into former MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace upheld 45 out of 83 allegations against him, prompting the BBC to cut all ties with the television host.
The report by law firm Lewis Silkin found the majority of substantiated allegations related to inappropriate sexual language and humour, with one incident of unwelcome physical contact also upheld.
Production company Banijay UK declared Wallace’s return to MasterChef “untenable” following the findings.
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The BBC confirmed it has “no plans to work with him in future”, stating his behaviour “falls below the values of the BBC and the expectations we have for anyone who works with or for us”.
The investigation revealed that 94 percent of the allegations against Wallace related to behaviour occurring between 2005 and 2018, with only one allegation substantiated after 2018.
The majority of upheld complaints concerned inappropriate sexual language and humour. A smaller number of allegations regarding other inappropriate language and being in a state of undress were also substantiated.
The report noted that Wallace, 60, was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder during the investigation period and said the findings should be viewed in the context of his neurodiversity.
Wallace cooperated with investigators and was interviewed three times for a total of more than 14 hours.
The BBC acknowledged that “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.”
Patrick Holland, chief executive of Banijay UK, said the report “makes for uncomfortable reading, highlighting failures in legacy reporting and HR procedures”. He added: “In earlier years, specifically prior to 2016, where the vast majority of these issues arose, it is clear that escalation procedures were not as robust as they should have been.”
Holland apologised to “anyone who has been impacted by this behaviour and felt unable to speak up at the time or that their complaint was not adequately addressed”.
Wallace said the report found him “guilty of inappropriate language between 2005 and 2018” and apologised “without reservation”, acknowledging that “some of my humour and language, at times, was inappropriate”.
However, he maintained that the “most damaging claims” against him, “including allegations from public figures which have not been upheld”, were “baseless”.
Prior to the report’s publication, Wallace claimed on Instagram that he had been cleared of the “most serious and sensational accusations” against him. He also revealed his autism diagnosis, stating it was “suspected and discussed by colleagues across countless seasons of MasterChef”.
MPs have condemned the handling of complaints against Wallace, with Dame Caroline Dinenage, Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, stating that the substantiated allegations showed “long-standing failure to protect people against unacceptable workplace behaviour”.
She noted that “most complaints were not raised with Mr Wallace himself, suggesting a reluctance to confront this head on and risk upsetting the on-screen talent”.
Shadow Culture Secretary Stuart Andrew said it was “not acceptable” that the BBC and Banijay missed “opportunities” to address Wallace’s behaviour.
The Conservative MP added: “I am glad that these allegations are finally being taken seriously, but this action should have come much sooner.”