Restaurant critic Grace Dent will judge the next series of Celebrity MasterChef alongside John Torode after Gregg Wallace was accused of sexual misconduct, it has been announced.
Dent, 51, will judge the upcoming 20th series of Celebrity MasterChef following news last month that Gregg Wallace will step away from the role amid an external review into historical allegations of misconduct.
Wallace has faced a series of complaints about his alleged behaviour, including claims he made inappropriate sexual jokes, shared intimate details of his sex life and even walked around set naked except for a penis on his sock.
He also reportedly would take off his clothes in front of women on set and flirt with members of staff.
At least 13 women have made formal complaints about Wallace across five shows over a 16-year period.
The BBC previously cancelled two planned Christmas specials of MasterChef amid the publicity storm surrounding the presenter.
Author and podcaster Dent has appeared regularly as a guest on MasterChef, and last year was a contestant on MasterChef: Battle Of The Critics.
Grace Dent will judge the next series of Celebrity MasterChef alongside John Torode
At least 13 people have made a formal complaint against Wallace, while other celebrities and former contestants have also spoken about his alleged behaviour
John Torode and Grace Dent will present and judge the next series of Celebrity Masterchef
She said: ‘I’ve been watching MasterChef since I was a girl sitting with my dad on the sofa. My whole family watches it. It’s all about uncovering and championing talent – and to have ended up in this position, is more than a dream to me.
‘I’m so excited that I can’t eat, which is severely detrimental to a restaurant critic. I feel very lucky to be stepping in for the next Celebrity MasterChef.
‘I can’t wait to meet the fresh celebrity faces for 2025.’
Torode, who has presented MasterChef since 2005, said: ‘I have loved working with Grace on MasterChef over the years. She has been an excellent guest, an inspiring critic and also set some incredible challenges.
‘Expertise is what MasterChef is all about, from the contestants to our wonderful production team, to us as judges.
‘The love of food, the love of MasterChef, and that unquestionable expertise, makes Grace the perfect person to step in alongside me as judge for the forthcoming Celebrity MasterChef series.’
Last year, Dent was part of the line-up for ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, but left the show early for medical reasons. She writes a restaurant review column for The Guardian and hosts celebrity food podcast Comfort Eating.
Dent was a restaurant critic for The Guardian and from 2011 to 2017 and wrote a restaurant column for the Evening Standard
The BBC has pulled its planned MasterChef Christmas specials amid a series of allegations of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour against presenter Gregg Wallace (right, pictured with co-host John Torode)
Gregg Wallace (pictured) has even been accused of telling a fellow TV chef that she was not a ‘real chef’ because she was a woman
Her book Comfort Eating: What We Eat When Nobody’s Looking was published last year, with her memoir Hungry published in 2020.
Kalpna Patel-Knight, the BBC’s head of entertainment, said: ‘Grace Dent is the perfect choice to step in for the next series of Celebrity MasterChef.
‘Grace is not only an energetic and well-established member of the MasterChef team, but is also a world renowned food critic, so she will certainly keep the next batch of celebrities on their toes.’
The most recent series of MasterChef: The Professionals continued to air amid a storm of allegations against Wallace, with two MasterChef celebrity Christmas specials, a Celebrity MasterChef Christmas Cook Off and a Strictly Festive Extravaganza, pulled from the BBC’s festive schedule.
Wallace’s lawyers previously told the BBC ‘it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature’.
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