Former MasterChef presenter John Torode has revealed he’s started seeing a therapist to deal with the ‘grief’ he feels following his BBC exit.
Torode, 60, was fired from the cooking competition earlier this year 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 eventually upheld 45 claims against him, which he later apologised for.
It was then found that Torode had used ‘racist language’ on two separate occasions while working for the BBC, amid a total of nine alleged complaints.
Now Torode has revealed that, in the months since his removal as MasterChef co-host, he’s been seeing a therapist to help him get over the ‘grief’ he’s felt.
Speaking in his online newsletter, A View From the Fridge, he said: ‘Therapy over the past few months has entitled me to no longer “be brave” but instead be real.
‘Fear is the instinct that keeps us alive, but should grief and fear meet each other I wonder how much damage it can do when we decide to shut it away.’
He continued: ‘What is becoming easier is being able to talk and to vocalise how I feel as I come to terms with the past 5 months and the impact it has had.
‘My tumultuous physical, illogical and physiological state of mind has not been easy… Life has changed forever for me and for those close to me. There is no sympathy searching here, just honesty.’
He added: ‘[Life has] ups and downs, good and bad, highs and lows as well as ins and outs. I guess I can call it life over the past five months.’
Torode revealed he has started to write a newsletter to ‘find a rhythm’ and also learn that he can take ‘solace’ from life being unpredictable.
He said that with each newsletter, he feels a little ‘braver’ before thanking his followers for supporting this latest venture, which he publishes through Substack.
Viewers were surprised last month when a new Celebrity MasterChef series began and John Torode took to the screen alongside Wallace’s replacement Grace Dent.
Having been axed in July, fans expected his last MasterChef appearance to have been alongside Wallace in the final season recorded before the investigation was concluded.
MasterChef controversy timeline
October 2024 – Misconduct claims against Gregg Wallace first emerge
November 2024 – Gregg Wallace steps away from MasterChef amid allegations
December 2024 – Gregg Wallace makes statement against ‘middle-class women of a certain age’
December 2024 – BBC pulls MasterChef Christmas special
December 2024 – Grace Dent announced as Gregg Wallace’s replacement
April 2025 – Gregg Wallace reveals suicidal thoughts 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 using racist language’
However, Torode stayed at the BBC slightly longer than Wallace, which meant he was able to film a handful of Celebrity MasterChef episodes alongside Grace Dent.
Speaking to the Sunday Times about Torode, Dent said: ‘I absolutely adore John Torode. He is one of the kindest, most concerned, clever, thoughtful men that I know.
‘After reading the entire [inquiry] report, my recollections of having a nice time with him, drinking coffee and having a biscuit now and again is pretty much irrelevant.’
She continued: ‘For me to sit here now and go, “Well, that’s not the Gregg that I knew,” is beside the point because it’s not about what I think.’
She added: ‘He said an awful lot, and that was during the point when I was starting my new [MasterChef] job and I utterly cut myself off from all of that.’
Watch Celebrity MasterChef on BBC One. Monday, December 8, 9pm.
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