John Torode breaks silence on Gregg Wallace hours after BBC axes Masterchef Christmas special

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy MasterChef co-host John Torode has said allegations surrounding Gregg Wallace are ‘truly upsetting’ as he addressed the reports of on-set misconduct for the first time. “During the last few days, I’ve been trying to make the best cookery programme, so being busy making the show and caring for our contestants has allowed me little time to think about anything else, but that has been hard.” open image in gallery He added: “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 and I hope that you all understand and respect my silence on the matter moving forward.” His statement comes after the BBC decided to axe two MasterChef Christmas specials as allegations of “groping” come to light. open image in gallery Torode became a familiar face to TV audiences in 1996 as the resident chef on ITV’s This Morning before joining former greengrocer Gregg on MasterChef in 2005. “What’s great about having a partnership is that if one of you is a bit off, a bit down, the other one naturally steps up, so I rely on John a lot.” Last week Banijay UK, the production company behind the BBC show, announced that Wallace would be “stepping away from his role on MasterChef” following complaints from individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct.