Grace Dent will replace Gregg Wallace on MasterChef after BBC star steps down due to misconduct investigation
Grace Dent has been announced as the star replacing Gregg Wallace on MasterChef and will join John Torode for the new series of the BBC cooking show.
Dent is a best-selling author and chart-topping podcaster, with a career in journalism spanning the past 15 years, as well as regularly appearing on the beloved series.
Back in November, Wallace stepped down from his role as a presenter on the show due to former celebrities coming forward and complaining about his behaviour – claiming he was a “bully” and issued sexual remarks.
Whilst Wallace has denied the claims, the star still stepped back from the BBC show despite being at the helm alongside Torode for 20 years.
Speaking ahead of her new role on the show, Dent 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.”
Torode 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. 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.”
MasterChef Executive Editor, David Ambler, says: “Grace’s expertise, wit and finely honed palette will be great asset to the judging lineup and the celebrities will need to be sitting up straight for this series.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming Grace back in 2025 as we uncover a new Celebrity MasterChef champion.”
Earlier this month, Wallace claimed the allegations against him came from a “handful of middle-class women of a certain age,” which caused an outraged amongst his former fans.
After making the Instagram video, he later apologised for these remarks, and stated: “I want to apologise for any offence that I caused with my post yesterday and any upset I may have caused to a lot of people.”
“I wasn’t in a good space when I posted it. I’ve been under a huge amount of stress, a lot of emotion.”
Wallace’s co-star stayed quiet in the days following his axing, but he soon weighed into the saga and said on Instagram: “Since last Friday I have been away filming MasterChef overseas.
“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.
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“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.”
It has also been claimed that Wallace has come to terms with his axing and admitted that he “f***ed up”, with a source claiming to The Sun: “Gregg’s conceded he has lost everything. To put it bluntly, he’s told people, ‘I’m f***ed’.
“He came out swinging but he has quietly conceded that he knows his time on MasterChef is over and that he will be stepping aside.”