After the BBC yesterday announced that MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace would be stepping down from the position amid a sexual misconduct investigation, fans of the show have been wondering what his co-host John Torode makes of the news.
Now, a four-word resurfaced comment that Torode used to sum up his former pal in 2017 has gone viral online.
News broke yesterday that 60-year-old Wallace would be stepping back from his presenting duties following complaints 'in relation to historical allegations of misconduct' made by previous colleagues.
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A statement released by the production firm explained: "Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate."
BBC News later confirmed that an alarming total of 13 individuals - including broadcaster Kirsty Wark - have made allegations against the TV star, all of whom had worked with Wallace on a range of different TV shows spanning across a 17-year period.
Wallace took to social media in the hours that followed, thanking those that have reached out to 'show their support', adding: "That's good of you. Thank you very much."
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Followers of the ongoing investigation have naturally been wondering whether John Torode - who has presented alongside Wallace since 2005 - will remain at the forefront of the culinary competition, and what he makes of the accusations as a whole.
Surprisingly, however, back in 2017, the 59-year-old Aussie cook confessed they weren't as close away from the cameras as they appear during filming.
"We’ve never been friends," he revealed during a conversation with the Sunday Mirror.
Torode went on to describe his colleague as 'so OCD', going onto explain: "It’s funny, we’ve never been friends. We’ve not been to each other’s houses…
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"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."
The BBC reported today that Wallace had been accused of making 'lesbian jokes' and 'highly inappropriate' comments by former co-workers.
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A female colleague who worked with Wallace on Channel 5's Greg Wallace's Big Weekends in 2019 accused him of being 'fascinated' that she dated women and asked her the 'logistics' of how same-sex relationships worked.
She also alleged that Wallace had ceaslessly talked about sex, domination and spanking, branding his remarks 'highly inappropriate'.
In another incident, another female co-worker claimed Wallace had showed her photos of a woman in her underwear, and then started showing her and another male colleague his outfits for the next day in his hotel room in Italy after they had finished filming.
She said Wallace took off his top and said 'let me give you a fashion show'.
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An Eat Well For Less staff member recalled him making comments on how his wife was only two years older than her whilst they worked together.
She also described another incident where Wallace allegedly went to his car to sort his parking ticket, telling her: "You can come to my car, but can you handle the fact everyone will think you just got off with a celebrity?"
Topics: BBC, Celebrity, TV And Film, UK News, Gregg Wallace