Gregg Wallace and John Torode have barely been kicked out of the kitchen, and already MasterChef has reportedly found their replacements.
As you’re surely aware by now, the MasterChef presenters were both sacked last week following an independent review, sparked by misconduct accusations against Wallace. After 45 of the 83 complaints against Wallace were upheld, he was swiftly dropped.
The BBC has confirmed it has no plans to work with Wallace again.
Hours later, Torode admitted he’d been accused of using racist language (the specific allegations are that he used the N-word). He stressed that he had ‘no recollection of the incident’, which is concerning in itself.
Typically, when a double act has presented a show together for 20 years, I’d say those are hard shoes to fill. Strangely, though, Wallace and Torode had no chemistry. I always found them quite unlikeable – even Torode admitted he and Wallace weren’t friends.
Great news, then, for whoever takes the reins going forward. It’s a safe bet they’ll steer MasterChef in an exciting new direction – one that will no doubt be a vast improvement.
Who could be taking over MasterChef?
According to The Sun, MasterChef could, understandably, be playing it safe with Saturday Kitchen’s Matt Tebbutt and Great British Menu presenter Andi Oliver stepping up to take the vacant positions.
It wasn’t my first choice. Last week, I wrote that food critics and MasterChef stalwarts Grace Dent and Jay Rayner would make the perfect replacements for Torode and Wallace.
They’re superbly witty, charming, and would give MasterChef everything it’s been missing for 20 years — a laugh.
But I’m not against Matt and Andi at all – far from it. I think they’d make a great team.
Matt is the safest pair of hands imaginable; his popularity on Saturday Kitchen is pretty much guaranteed proof that he’s a hit with viewers. He’ll either bring in a new audience or, at the very least, retain the one already there.
I get it.
Andi, meanwhile, is one of the best – if not the best – chefs and presenters we have. She brings effortless warmth and maternal energy to everything she does. She’s so talented, I find it unbearable that I can’t reach into the television and grab a handful of whatever she’s cooking. She’ll bring a high energy to MasterChef that it’s been starved of.
She may be an obvious signing – but it’s also a stroke of genius.
Given the current state of MasterChef, now threatened by the alleged grotesque behaviour of two men, it isn’t just a relief to hear it will be getting a feminine touch – it’s vital.
But why stop there? When there are so few shows led by a pair or team of women, this would have been the perfect opportunity to break the mould – with the two women I genuinely believe are best for the job.
I still stand by Grace. She’s already replaced Wallace on Celebrity MasterChef, which she filmed with Torode – but now that he’s followed his co-host out the door too, who knows if we’ll see that series? Either way, I have total faith that Grace will have been excellent in it.
Of course, Grace shouldn’t get the job because she’s a woman. That’s not how television works – clearly – nor many other industries.
But Grace and Andi together wouldn’t just have made a powerful statement by replacing Wallace and Torode with two women of a ‘certain age’ – they would have made a refreshing and brilliant new pairing.
Aside from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, I can’t think of another female duo who were paired together, rather than climbed the ranks as a double act like Mel and Sue or French and Saunders.
It just doesn’t happen.
Teams of male presenters? Can’t get enough of them. They’re everywhere and always have been — Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May; Simon Rimmer and Tim Lovejoy on Sunday Brunch; Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding, who didn’t work but somehow still lasted longer than they should have.
MasterChef is one of the BBC’s biggest shows, and I wouldn’t suggest bringing in new presenters just to make a statement. They have to be the right fit for the show and its audience.
But I’ll be really disappointed not to see Grace on that line-up alongside Andi. They could have been an unexpected but wonderful new direction for MasterChef.
To stress: From what I’ve seen of Matt on Saturday Kitchen – which admittedly isn’t loads, but enough to know he’s perfectly pleasant and incredibly charming – I have no doubt he’ll be a great addition to MasterChef.
I just think the BBC is missing a trick by not giving the job to Grace.
No doubt she’ll still pop up with the odd guest appearance as a food critic, sending contestants into a tailspin — but she’s always been too punchy and fun to keep on the sidelines.
She should be — and always should have been — a full serving.
Whoever ends up being named as the replacements for Torode and Wallace, rest assured: They’ll turn up the heat in the MasterChef kitchen, and we’ll be left with a much more palatable dish.
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