MasterChef 2026 judge Grace Dent’s brutal verdict on Gregg Wallace sacking scandal
'He said an awful lot, and I utterly cut myself off from all of that'
Grace Dent has never been one to mince her words and, speaking about Gregg Wallace’s sacking from MasterChef ahead of the 2026 series launch, she was typically candid.
December 2024 saw Grace replace Wallace on Celebrity MasterChef, following complaints about his alleged misconduct. After an inquiry, he was sacked last summer. His co-star John Torode was also axed from the show, amid allegations he used a racial slur on set. Chef Anna Haugh has replaced John.
And, as the ladies launch the 2026 series of MasterChef tonight (April 21), here’s what they’ve both said about Gregg and John’s exit…
Grace Dent on taking over from Gregg Wallace on MasterChef
Earlier this month, Grace was asked by The Guardian if she felt under pressure to save the show. “All I can think about is the future. I can’t look back. I haven’t got time,” she said bluntly.
“It might seem like I’m just pointing at scallops [but] it’s full-on and difficult, and I’m working with an enormous team. So no, I don’t think about the past.”
Speaking to the Radio Times, she added: “No, I don’t feel I am ‘picking up’ after anybody. I’ve been going to work every day at the helm of the most important food show, probably in British television history. I think I’m doing well. There is no way I’d show up a year ago on that set and begin to work in the manner that I did, while looking backwards.”
‘Always a very, very big character’
She was even more direct about her feelings, specifically about Gregg, to The Sunday Times. Grace told the paper: “He was always a very, very big character.
“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. 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.”
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She added that she ‘utterly cut herself off’ from Gregg’s claims that the complaints were partly due to his working-class roots. “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,” she said.
Grace also pushed the scandal with Wallace to the back of her mind as she started her new role.
She told The Telegraph this month: “I couldn’t even think about that [the headlines]. I had to pack up all of my life and move to Birmingham and begin filming immediately. If I had given it a moment’s thought, it would have been very difficult. I didn’t have time to read any of the headlines, and if I could have, I wouldn’t have. I just had to get on with it.”
‘I absolutely adore John Torode’
Grace did speak warmly of John, though, saying they’re friends for life after working together on the show. She also added that he was “just incredibly supportive” when she replaced Gregg.
“I absolutely adore John Torode. He is one of the kindest, most concerned, clever, thoughtful men that I know,” Grace told The Times.
Anna Haugh on replacing Gregg and John
Irish chef Anna is a lot more tactful when it comes to the former MasterChef judges.
She hailed the team behind the show, telling The Guardian the crew are “absolutely superb”, adding: “Grace and I are on camera, but there is a whole brigade of people lifting us up, taking care of us, encouraging us to be the best version of ourselves. Nobody wanted us to be anything but authentic and focusing on the different contestants.”
Anna added to the Radio Times that MasterChef is “bigger than any one person” and the show is “a reflection” of the “brilliant” contestants.
Read more: MasterChef star Anna Haugh’s love life, including split from ‘very handsome’ ex
