After nearly 20 years of hosting one of the BBC’s top cooking shows, you would think Gregg Wallace and John Torode would by now – at least – consider each other ‘friends’.
While the Masterchef presenters may appear joined at the hip onscreen, the same cannot be said for when they are off it, with Torode previously claiming that he and Wallace have ‘never been friends’.
And despite their seemingly natural chemistry, the presenting pair have at times locked horns when the cameras are off.
It therefore comes as no surprise then that Torode has failed to offer any public support to Wallace after allegations emerged from several women accusing the 60-year-old of making inappropriate ‘sexualised’ behaviour during filming.
The allegations emerged on Thursday last week, coming from a number of previous Masterchef contestants including Newsnight host Kirsty Wark.
After days of remaining silent on social media, Torode finally addressed the claims on Wednesday, but notably failed to speak up in support of his embattled co-host.
Torode said in a statement on Instagram that he found the recent reports ‘truly upsetting’ and the ‘thought of anyone who has appeared on our show not having a brilliant experience is awful to hear’.
His words came after Wallace was said to be ‘furious’ with his former co-star for not publicly supporting him and unfollowed him and his wife Lisa Faulkner on Instagram.
John Torode and Gregg Wallace appeared on Good Morning Britain in 2019, where the 60-year-old said he often sees his co-host in ‘tears of frustration’
In another cip from ITV’s This Morning, host Catherine Langsford told the pair ‘It seems after 14 years , you still love it and love each other’ to which Gregg gave a smirk
Wallace and Torode locked horns in one episode of Masterchef when they were unable to come to an agreement on which contestant should be voted out, prompting a tense exchange
Though Torode was Wallace’s best man for his fourth marriage, to Anne-Marie Sterpini – 22 years his junior – in 2016, the pair are anything but close. Speaking to The Mirror in 2017, Torode admitted: ‘It’s funny, we’ve never been friends.
‘We’ve not been to each other’s houses… He’s so OCD, he wouldn’t know what to do.
‘He’d build it up in his mind for three days, and probably make himself quite sick, then he’d have an argument with his wife and not turn up.
‘If I went to his house, he would feel like he wasn’t in control.’
Torode even revealed that on one occasion he stormed off set after he got in a ‘massive fight’ with his co-host.
He said: ‘Once, we had a bit too much to drink and filming got called off,” admitted John
‘We ended up having a massive fight about one of the contestants, and he got really stubborn – it was ridiculous.
‘We’ve had a couple of standoffs over the years, about contestants, and I’ve just had to walk away from him.’
Wallace appeared visibly frustrated with his Masterchef co-host during one episode where they were unable to agree on who to send home
Wallace pictured with his wife Anne-Marie in June 2020
Even when travelling abroad for work, the two have always kept their distance, avoiding each other at mealtimes.
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He continued: ‘If we go away to somewhere like South Africa, 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.’
The rift in their relationship is also not news to those working on the BBC cookery show, as insiders .
One source familiar with the MasterChef scandal told Daily Mail’s Katie Hind: ‘Gregg and John are not friends, their relationship has been purely professional for a long time but that is looking shaky right now.’
Another source who knows both men added: ‘It is a miracle that they stand next to one another on set sometimes, there have been some really, really bad times.’
A further strain in their relationship became apparent in October when Torode failed to get behind his co-host when his wife Lisa Faulkner alleged Wallace ‘repeatedly told rude jokes’ on set.
Faulkner, 52, appeared on the series in 2010 where she went on to win the Celebrity MasterChef trophy.
John Torode’s wife Lisa Faulkner has previously alleged Wallace ‘repeatedly told rude jokes’ on set. She is pictured on the set of Masterchef with Wallace and Torode in 2010
John Torode and his wife Lisa Faulkner appear on ITV’s This Morning in September 2024
The Brookside and Holby City star told the Cheltenham Literature Festival in October how she would overhear the former greengrocer’s jokes as she was chopping away, according to The Sun.
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She said: ‘Gregg was telling – I’m probably not allowed to say this…Gregg just told rude joke after rude joke to the crew.
‘You’re just sitting there and if you’re on the front bench just chopping away thinking, “I’ve got ten minutes left”, and he’s saying, “So this girl walked into a bar…”
‘And I’m going, “Please, I don’t want to hear this joke”.’
Torode, who was on stage with Lisa at the time, did not dismiss any of her comments, but claimed the show has ‘changed quite a lot’ since then.
Following the emergence of the allegations last week, Wallace has made his anger at Torode and his wife quite plain, after unfollowing them both on Instagram.
Meanwhile, a source told The Sun that Wallace is ‘furious’ with his former co-star for not publicly supporting him and believes ‘he has done nothing wrong’.
The source said: ‘Gregg is absolutely furious and is convinced he has done nothing wrong.
Faulkner (pictured), 52, appeared on the series in 2010 where she went on to win the Celebrity MasterChef trophy
Faulkner revealed earlier this year how she would overhear Gregg’s jokes during her time on Masterchef, according to The Sun
‘Seeing John keeping quiet amid all of this has irked him hugely. Gregg and John have been colleagues for almost two decades and while they aren’t the closest of friends, Gregg feels John could say something.
‘He has deleted them from his Instagram account now and unfollowed both of them.’
Wallace, 60, is facing a mountain of allegations from women who have continued to come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct in recent days.
The MasterChef star stepped down from hosting the show after nearly 20 years last Thursday after 13 women, including Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark, over a 17-year period across five shows from 2005 to 2022.
The allegations include roaming around on set naked with a sock on his penis, inappropriate jokes and groping crew members.
Other allegations include talking openly about his sex life on set, including details of intimate acts, flirting with crew members and asking younger female colleagues for their numbers.
The Masterchef judge’s lawyers have said ‘it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature’.