Amanda Holden leads famous faces in public backing of John Torode amid MasterChef ‘racial comment’ saga
Amanda Holden has appeared to publicly support MasterChef presenter John Torode after he confirmed being the subject of a racist language allegation upheld in the investigation into co-host Gregg Wallace.
The Britain’s Got Talent judge was among 5,000 people who liked Torode’s Instagram statement addressing the allegation on Monday. Torode had disabled comments on the post.
Other celebrities showing support included Strictly Come Dancing professional Nancy Xu and This Morning’s cleaning expert Lynsey.
Torode’s statement confirmed he was “the individual who is alleged to have used racial language on one occasion” as part of the Lewis Silkin investigation. The allegation relates to remarks allegedly made in 2018 or 2019.
He wrote: “I have absolutely no recollection of any of this, and I do not believe that it happened.”
According to Torode’s statement, the allegation included that “the person I was speaking with did not believe that it was intended in a malicious way and that I apologized immediately afterwards.”
Despite this characterisation, Torode expressed shock at the finding. “I’m shocked and saddened by the allegation as I would never wish to cause anyone any offence,” he said.
“I want to be clear that I’ve always had the view that any racial language is wholly unacceptable in any environment.”
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The celebrity chef maintained his innocence in the Instagram post, stating: “For the sake of transparency, I confirm that I am the individual who is alleged to have used racial language on one occasion.”
He added: “I have absolutely no recollection of any of this, and I do not believe that it happened.”
The Lewis Silkin investigation, which spanned seven months and interviewed 78 witnesses, substantiated 45 of 83 allegations against Wallace spanning from 2005 to 2024.
The report also examined 10 standalone allegations against other individuals involved with the productions, substantiating two of them.
Both upheld allegations related to inappropriate language – one involving swearing and one involving racist language, now confirmed to involve Torode.
The investigation was commissioned in December 2024 following media reports of allegations against Wallace. It examined workplace culture and complaint handling procedures across the production spanning nearly two decades.
The report found that 94 percent of allegations against Wallace related to behaviour occurring between 2005 and 2018, with only one allegation substantiated after 2018.
The BBC and producer Banijay UK announced the termination of Wallace’s nearly two-decade tenure on MasterChef following the investigation’s findings. Both organisations deemed Wallace’s return to the programme “untenable”.
The BBC stated it has “informed Wallace that it has no plans to work with him in future”, adding: “This behaviour falls below the values of the BBC and the expectations we have for anyone who works with or for us.”
Wallace apologised for causing “distress” and said he “never set out to harm or humiliate” anyone.
He revealed he had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder during the investigation.
Unlike Wallace, whose departure has been confirmed, Torode’s future with the show remains unclear. The BBC has not issued any statement regarding Torode’s status following his acknowledgement of the upheld allegation.