MasterChef presenter John Torode has been spotted for the first time since allegations emerged about his co-host Gregg Wallace‘s sexually inappropriate behaviour on set.
The 59-year-old Australian was seen walking his dog Rory with wife Lisa Faulkner in a London park on Wednesday morning, having broken cover for the first time in two weeks.
Torode, dressed in a green jacket, dark blue trousers and a blue t-shirt, could be seen holding his actress wife’s hand as they strolled.
It’s the first time he has been pictured since allegations about Wallace’s behaviour were first reported almost two weeks ago – and a week after he broke his silence on the claims, branding them ‘truly upsetting’.
Wallace has stepped back from MasterChef after more than a dozen women came forward to claim he had behaved inappropriately towards them while filming MasterChef and a number of other TV programmes.
Since then, Torode has reportedly sought to distance himself from his on-screen partner – having previously denied the pair are even friends in their private lives.
In a statement he shared on Instagram on December 4, Torode said he had taken a few days to respond to the press reports around Wallace because he had been filming other editions of MasterChef abroad.
John Torode has been seen for the first time since allegations about his MasterChef co-star Gregg Wallace’s behaviour on set were reported
Torode, 59, was seen walking his dog Rory in a park alongside his wife, the actress Lisa Faulkner
Torode has appeared alongside Gregg Wallace on MasterChef since 2006 – but the pair have known each other for decades
He said: ‘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.
‘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…’
‘I hope that you all understand and respect my silence on the matter moving forward.’
Torode is reported to have flagged concerns over his co-presenter’s behaviour to bosses at MasterChef production company Banijay UK – but had not made any formal complaints.
Last week, it was reported that he was unhappy with the language Wallace was allegedly using on set and was said to be aware of his co-host’s reputation for making uncouth remarks.
And he has distanced himself from the idea he is close with his on-screen co-star, despite the pair being a double act on MasterChef for almost 20 years.
Despite being Wallace’s best man for his fourth wedding to current wife Anne Marie in 2016, Torode has publicly said he does not consider his on-screen partner a friend.
He bluntly told the Mirror in 2017: ‘It’s funny, we’ve never been friends. We’ve not been to each other’s houses.
‘We do things separately. If we do go out for a drink, I’ll invariably be at one end of a big old table and he’ll be at the other.’
John Torode said in a statement that he found the reports about Wallace’s alleged misconduct ‘truly upsetting’ (pictured today)
The presenter and chef has asked fans to ‘respect his silence’ on the matter while an investigation is carried out (pictured today)
Lisa was able to flash a smile as she and Torode took a walk with Rory on Wednesday morning
John Torode and Gregg Wallace have been a presenting duo on MasterChef for almost 20 years after the show was relaunched in 2006
Torode and wife Lisa Faulkner began seeing each other a few years after she appeared on 2010’s Celebrity MasterChef (pictured). They married in 2019
In light of the new allegations, a source told the Sun last week: ‘John is not stupid – of course he was aware of some of Gregg’s less savoury behaviour. He did not condone it, and nor did he engage with it.
‘He does not have a machismo sense of humour and when he made that comment about the pair of them not being friends in real life, he knew what he was doing.
‘It was his way of distancing himself when attempts to do it otherwise failed.’
The pair have known each other for years, having first met whilst Wallace was a greengrocer and Torode a sous chef at London’s Quaglino’s restaurant.
Torode and Lisa, meanwhile, met while filming Celebrity MasterChef in 2010 – but their romance did not blossom for several years. They wed in 2019 and now live in Muswell Hill with Rory the schnauzer and Lisa’s daughter.
Wallace, meanwhile, was said to be furious with his co-star for failing to support him publicly – and unfollowed both Torode and Faulkner on Instagram in a very public falling out.
He voluntarily stepped back from MasterChef to allow an investigation into his behaviour to proceed – but shows featuring the bespectacled presenter have also been yanked from the festive TV schedule.
Former Celebrity MasterChef contestant and journalist Kirsty Wark was among those to speak out in the first instance, telling BBC News Wallace had told ‘sexualised’ jokes during filming that left contestants and crew uncomfortable.
Others claimed Wallace had undressed in front of them, bragged about his sex life, and told a junior female colleague he wasn’t wearing any underwear.
Sir Rod Stewart branded Wallace an ‘ill-mannered bully’ after the first allegations were reported; his wife Penny Lancaster had appeared on Celebrity MasterChef in 2021 and had been visibly upset when Wallace refused to try her food.
Wallace has shared images of his physical transformation on Instagram. Allegations suggest he would take his top off in front of female members of production staff
Gregg Wallace has made a number of posts on social media since the allegations surfaced – including this image of a gingerbread man in whipped cream captioned ‘enjoy your weekend’
Sir Rod Stewart blasted Wallace as a ‘tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully’ for the way he allegedly treated his wife Penny Lancaster on MasterChef
Penny was left visibly upset after she ran out of time on the programme – leaving a furious Wallace unwilling to try her food
Ulrika Jonsson claimed Gregg Wallace made rape jokes on the set of Celebrity MasterChef (the pair pictured on the show in 2017)
Later, more allegations were made of inappropriate comments, as well as unwanted touching and groping.
TV presenter Ulrika Jonsson accused Wallace of making jokes about rape that upset her fellow Celebrity MasterChef contestants, while Geordie Shore’s Charlotte Crosby branded him ‘extremely unpleasant’.
And Aggie Mackenzie, presenter of ‘How Clean is Your House’, said Wallace ‘behaved like a sort of Sid James character’ who would tell sex jokes and ‘swagger around and do as he liked’.
The pair appeared on the 2017 and 2011 series of Celebrity MasterChef, respectively.
Wallace maintains that it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a harassing nature – but only caused fury when he attempted to defend himself against the allegations on social media.
After initially breaking his silence to mutely thank fans for support, he took to Instagram to blast his accusers as ‘middle-class women of a certain age’.
But after the remark was criticised as ‘completely inappropriate and misogynistic’ by Sir Keir Starmer, Wallace attempted to backtrack, blaming a ‘huge amount of stress’ and a ‘lot of emotion’ for his outburst.
Insiders said he had ‘gone rogue’ and was ignoring advice on how best to salvage his TV career following the scandal.
But some have leapt to his defence, including TV chef Ainsley Harriott, who insisted the ‘whole crew, including Gregg, was fantastic’ when he appeared on Celebrity MasterChef earlier this year.
The fallout continues to affect the BBC, which is reeling from other star scandals including that of Huw Edwards, who was handed a suspended sentence earlier this year for indecent image offences.
A screengrab of Gregg Wallace as he sought to climb down from remarks describing his accusers as ‘middle class women of a certain age’
Corporation bosses are thought to be mulling over whether Wallace can somehow be edited out of the next series of MasterChef, which has already been filmed.
Despite the BBC insisting that the future of MasterChef will not be decided until the outcome of the investigation, a production insider told MailOnline the series is ‘salvageable’ as the option to scrub Wallace entirely is being carefully considered.
The source said that Torode and Wallace’s critique segments, where they give feedback on the contestants’ food, were filmed separately.
They said: ‘John and Gregg were always shot with separate cameras. Any two shots, or wide shots containing the pair can be cut. Removing Gregg entirely is a difficult task, but not an impossible one.’
The broadcaster could yet face a reckoning after culture secretary Lisa Nandy warned that she would stamp out any ‘culture of silence’ over harassment.
Insiders claimed reports of Wallace’s alleged misbehaviour were swept under the rug for years.
Banijay UK, the production company that makes MasterChef, said Wallace was ‘committed to fully co-operating throughout the process’.
It has appointed City law firm Lewis Silkin, which also led investigations into Russell Brand’s time on Big Brother spin-off shows including Big Brother’s Big Mouth, to examine Wallace’s time on the show.
‘Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate,’ the company said.
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