John Torode Sacked From Masterchef Over ‘Extremely Offensive Racist Term’
Just 24 hours after Gregg Wallace was sacked by the BBC, his Masterchef co-host John Torode has also been given his marching orders; over an ‘extremely offensive racist term’ he used during a private conversation between 2018 and 2019.
It’s not known what exactly Torode said, but the allegation arose during the broader investigation into the misconduct allegations against Gregg Wallace. I guess someone the investigators spoke to mentioned that Torode used this racist term 6 or 7 years ago, and now he’s being sacked for it.
Torode, 59, has confirmed that he was being investigated over his language, but said he had “no recollection of the incident” and was “shocked and saddened” by the allegation.
In any case, the person who made the allegation told investigators that no offence was probably meant by it and Torode immediately apologised’. Off with his head anyway, I guess?
In a statement, Torode said: “I’d hoped that I’d have some say in my exit from a show I’ve worked on since its relaunch in 2005, but events in the last few days seem to have prevented that.”
He said he had “loved every minute working on MasterChef, but it’s time to pass the cutlery to someone else”.
In a statement, the BBC said that the allegation against Torode involved “an extremely offensive racist term being used in the workplace” and was investigated and substantiated by the independent investigation led by the law firm, Lewis Silkin.
The corporation’s statement continued: “The BBC takes this upheld finding extremely seriously. We will not tolerate racist language of any kind and, as we have already said, we told Banijay UK, the makers of MasterChef, that action must be taken. John Torode’s contract on MasterChef will not be renewed.”
Blimey. Not messing about, are they? Although according to reports, the BBC first suggested to Torode that he resign and blame it on ‘mental health issues’. Credit to Torode, he refused, because he doesn’t have mental health issues.
And so, Gregg Wallace and John Torode both find themselves out of work. One after 45 allegations of misconduct were substantiated against him, and the other for allegedly making a racist remark in a private social situation 6 or 7 years ago.
What’s really weird is that the complainant acknowledged that Torode didn’t mean any offence and even apologised immediately afterwards. How can someone both make a complaint and follow it up by saying it wasn’t malicious? Maybe they were complaining on behalf of someone else.
Anyway, it’s up for debate whether John Torode has been hard done by here, but I guess maybe the BBC saw it as an opportunity to start fresh with Masterchef. Maybe get Vic & Bob in? The two from Horrible Histories?
Meanwhile, Gregg Wallace is gearing up to sue the BBC for autism discrimination. Good luck with that.
