BBC Director-General Tim Davie has declared that MasterChef can “absolutely survive and prosper” without Gregg Wallace, describing the programme as “much bigger than individuals” during today’s Annual Report press briefing.
Speaking after yesterday’s independent report upheld 45 allegations against Wallace, Davie threw his weight behind the BBC stalwart series, which is currently renewed until 2028. However, he refused to throw his support behind Torode who is facing an allegation of using “racial language”.
“MasterChef is a great programme that is well loved by audiences and is much bigger than individuals,” Davie said. “It absolutely can survive and prosper but we have to make sure we’re in the right place in terms of culture.”
The Director-General confirmed he could “absolutely” see the show continuing well beyond 2028 with a new presenter line-up, following Wallace’s dismissal after his position became “untenable” due to the substantiated allegations.
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John Torode and Gregg Wallace have been the faces of MasterChef for years
Davie refused to back Torode’s future on the show after the presenter confirmed an allegation of racist language was upheld in the same report.
“If someone is found to not live up to our values, we expect the independent company, Banijay in this case, to take action and report back to us on what they have done,” Davie stated.
When pressed about Torode’s position, the Director-General said: “These aren’t BBC employees, but we absolutely expect action to be taken.”
He declined to comment on individual cases, saying it “would not be appropriate or fair on anyone in terms of the series.”
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John Torode’s statement on the MasterChef report
Torode announced on Instagram he had “no recollection of the incident” and was “shocked and saddened” by the allegation.
BBC Chair Samir Shah revealed that several members of staff have been dismissed following an independent review of workplace culture commissioned by the BBC.
“This is the first time we’re going to say this publicly, several people have been dismissed as a result,” Shah announced during the Annual Report briefing.
He noted that “since April more staff have been confident to step forward and several people have been dismissed as a result.”
Shah acknowledged there remain pockets within the broadcaster where “powerful individuals” can still “make life for their colleagues unbearable.”
The BBC boss emphasised that he and the leadership team would not “tolerate behaviour that is not in line with our values,” adding: “There is no place in, or on the BBC, for those who are not prepared to live by our values, whoever they are.”
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John Torode and Gregg Wallace presented MasterChef together on the BBC
Davie addressed the Gaza documentary controversy, acknowledging the BBC breached editorial guidelines on accuracy by failing to disclose that the child narrator was the son of a Hamas official.
“There was a breach of our editorial guidelines, there was no breach on impartiality and no evidence of any outside interest impact on the programme but there was a breach of accuracy, and that is not acceptable,” Davie stated.
The programme “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone” was removed from BBC iPlayer in February after the narrator’s connection to Hamas deputy minister of agriculture Ayman Alyazouri emerged.
“So we are taking action to ensure proper accountability and we’re taking immediate steps to stop a failing like this being repeated,” Davie said.
BBC | John Torode has denied the ‘racial comment’ allegation against him
Media watchdog Ofcom launched its own investigation into the programme on Monday.
The Director-General confirmed he is heavily involved in the “difficult decision” about whether to broadcast the upcoming MasterChef series that features Wallace.
As “editor in chief” of the BBC, Davie said his “overwhelming concern” is for the amateur chefs who “gave their heart and soul to this programme.”
“We have to reflect on that, talk to them, consult them, think about our audience and then make the call,” he explained.
“That is what we are going through now. I’m not ruling out one way or another I just want to go through the process and then we can make a call.”
The already-filmed series was shot last autumn with both Wallace and Torode presenting.
