New MasterChef hosts revealed after Wallace and Torode axed
Food critic Grace Dent and chef Anna Haugh are the new hosts of MasterChef, after Gregg Wallace and John Torode were sacked.
Dent has appeared regularly as a guest on MasterChef, while Haugh has been a judge on the spin-off Professionals series.
Wallace and Torode had hosted the show for 20 years, but were axed in July after a report upheld claims against them.
The BBC decided to broadcast this year’s amateurs series of MasterChef – with both Wallace and Torode in it – for the sake of the chefs who had taken part in it.
Author and podcaster Dent was a contestant on MasterChef: Battle Of The Critics in 2023.
She said: “I’m over the moon to be coming back to the MasterChef kitchen and unearthing what culinary skills people have been cooking up behind closed doors. It’s a joy to be working with Anna, who brings all her incredible experience to the table. I am in for such a treat with this series, I can’t wait to get started.”
Last year, it was announced that she would host the next series of Celebrity MasterChef alongside Torode, after Wallace temporarily stepped back from presenting the show following allegations against him.
The BBC has not yet announced what it plans to do with the completed celebrity series.
Dublin-born chef Anna Haugh is the founder of Myrtle restaurant in London, and is also a familiar face on TV screens.
She replaced Wallace in the final episodes of the current MasterChef amateurs series, as that’s when the allegations against him first emerged during filming in November.
She said: “I’m delighted to be back on MasterChef and judging alongside the wonderful Grace Dent, whose writing and wit I’ve admired for years. MasterChef has long inspired and resonated with cooks in home kitchens and of course in my industry. I can’t wait to get into the studio for what will be a great competition.”
The BBC has also confirmed that chef and television presenter Matt Tebbutt will replace Wallace as a judge on the next series of MasterChef: The Professionals.
The Saturday Kitchen host will join Marcus Wareing and Monica Galetti on the programme.
The controversy over MasterChef started last year, when BBC News first revealed claims of inappropriate sexual comments against Wallace.
The show’s production company ordered an immediate inquiry into the allegations. This summer, the report upheld more than 40 claims against Wallace including one of unwelcome physical contact and three of being in a state of undress.
A claim that Torode had used a severely offensive racist term was also substantiated.
Wallace has insisted he was cleared of the “most serious” allegations, while Torode says he has “no recollection” of the incident.
