(Credits: BBC/PA Wire)
John Torode’s Celebrity MasterChef substitute has been ‘revealed’ as a prime Michelin-starred chef.
Giorgio Locatelli is reportedly set to hitch MasterChef to star alongside Grace Dent as the latest host, changing John Torode who was axed from the present.
The prime TV chef, 62, has beforehand appeared as a visitor and choose on BBC’s Big Family Cooking Showdown in addition to Channel 4’s Celebrity Cooking School.
He was additionally the proprietor of Italian restaurant Locanada Locatelli in London, which was a favorite of A-list celebrities together with Madonna earlier than it closed earlier this yr.
The chef opened the institution together with his spouse Plaxy in 2002 and obtained a Michelin star one yr later.
Locatelli will reportedly be part of host and meals critic Dent, 52, who will even host the non-celebrity model of the present with Irish chef Anna Haugh, 45.
A supply advised The Sun: ‘It’s time for a brand new period for and managers assume Giorgio is the proper match.
‘He has a wealth of expertise within the restaurant business and has loads of character.’
Torode, 60, was fired from the cooking competitors earlier this yr after an investigation into ‘inappropriate conduct’ behind the scenes involving his TV co-host Gregg Wallace.
The off-camera behaviour of Wallace, 61, was the centre of a BBC probe that ultimately upheld 45 claims towards him, which he later apologised for.
It was then discovered that Torode had used ‘racist language’ on two separate events whereas working for the BBC, amid a complete of 9 alleged complaints.
Torode later revealed that, within the months since his elimination as MasterChef co-host, he’s been seeing a therapist to assist him recover from the ‘grief’ he’s felt.
Speaking in his on-line e-newsletter, A View From the Fridge, he stated: ‘Therapy over the previous few months has entitled me to not “be courageous” however as an alternative be actual.
‘Fear is the intuition that retains us alive, however ought to grief and concern meet one another I ponder how a lot injury it might do after we determine to close it away.’
He continued: ‘What is changing into simpler is with the ability to discuss and to vocalise how I really feel as I come to phrases with the previous 5 months and the affect it has had.
MasterChef controversy timeline
October 2024 – Misconduct claims towards Gregg Wallace first emerge
November 2024 – Gregg Wallace steps away from MasterChef amid allegations
December 2024 – Gregg Wallace makes assertion towards ‘middle-class girls of a sure age’
December 2024 – BBC pulls MasterChef Christmas particular
December 2024 – Grace Dent introduced as Gregg Wallace’s substitute
April 2025 – Gregg Wallace reveals suicidal ideas after investigation
July 2025 – Gregg Wallace plans to sue BBC and apologises after 45 allegations are upheld
July 2025 – John Torode sacked from MasterChef ‘for utilizing racist language’
‘My tumultuous bodily, illogical and physiological frame of mind has not been simple… Life has modified without end for me and for these near me. There isn’t any sympathy looking out right here, simply honesty.’
However, Torode stayed on the BBC barely longer than Wallace, which meant he was in a position to movie a handful of Celebrity MasterChef episodes alongside Dent.
Speaking to the Sunday Times about Torode, Dent stated: ‘I completely adore John Torode. He is likely one of the kindest, most involved, intelligent, considerate males that I do know.
‘After studying your entire [inquiry] report, my recollections of getting a pleasant time with him, ingesting espresso and having a biscuit from time to time is just about irrelevant.’
She continued: ‘For me to sit down right here now and go, “Well, that’s not the Gregg that I knew,” is inappropriate as a result of it’s not about what I feel.’
She added: ‘He stated an terrible lot, and that was in the course of the level after I was beginning my new [MasterChef] job and I totally lower myself off from all of that.’
Metro has contacted MasterChef for remark.
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