It has been revealed that a frontrunner to replace Gregg Wallace on Masterchef will be announced next week. The rumoured replacement is alread well-known to fans of the cooking show.
Gregg stepped back from his role as co-presenter and judge of the BBC show after allegations surfaced of inappropriate sexual comments. He had held the role on Masterchef alongside John Torode since 2005.
Any wrongdoing is strongly denied by the TV judge, as his legal representatives: “It is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.”.
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In response to the accusations, Gregg said “this isn’t right”. Taking to Instagram, he told followers he believed that the allegations were being made by “middle class women of a certain age”.
The Sun is now reporting that his Masterchef replacement will be announced next week and has appeared on the show before as a critic, as well as hit ITV reality show I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.
It is reported that Grace Dent, 51, will now be taking on the top spot, alongside John Torode. She has worked as a newspaper restaurant critic for and has gone on to appear on various television programmes.
She has featured as a critic on MasterChef, Masterchef: The Professionals, and Celebrity Masterchef, as well as BBC Two’s Great British Menu. TV fans got to know her even better last year when she appeared on I’m a Celeb. She left the jungle after just nine days on “medical grounds”.
A TV source reportedly told The Sun: “Grace is the perfect choice to replace Gregg on Masterchef. She’s knowledgeable about food and opinionated, plus it’s great to have a woman as a judge on the show. It will shake things up and give the series the boost it needs after such an upsetting and uncertain time.
“She is already a fan favourite and has won lots of respect in the foodie world thanks to her no-nonsense style and sense of humour. Bosses love her already, know she is a safe pair of hands and trust her to help steer the ship with John to steadier waters.”