John Torode's wife Lisa Faulkner breaks silence after MasterChef star sacked ‘for using racist slur'
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JOHN Torode's wife Lisa Faulkner has broken her silence after the MasterChef star was sacked for allegedly using a racist slur.
The top TV chef, 59, was said to be heartbroken after the BBC and production firm Banijay confirmed his dismissal for racist language following the Gregg Wallace scandal.
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John Torode's wife Lisa Faulkner has spoken out after her husband was sacked
Credit: PA
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She penned a message on Instagram
Credit: lisafaulknercooks
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Former MasterChef hosts John Torode, 59, and Gregg Wallace, 60,
Credit: BBC
Earlier this month, the broadcaster confirmed the host's contract would not be renewed after a report found he had used an 'extremely offensive racist term' during drinks after filming.
Torode confirmed to The Sun that this allegation referred to him, but denied that it had ever happened.
Now, in a video uploaded to Instagram today, his wife Lisa broke her silence for the first time.
She said: "Hi there, I just wanted to check in and say hello and I'm here.
"Just thank you for all your really lovely comments because they really mean a lot, so thank you."
Wallace, 60, was dropped from the BBC cooking competition in November 2024 amid numerous allegations of inappropriate conduct in the workplace.
But a BBC report which upheld 45 of 83 allegations of bad behaviour against Wallace also upheld a claim that a second person used a racial phrase once several years ago - which emerged to be Torode.
Torode accepted the allegation referred to him, but has denied the claims and said he has 'no recollection' of the event.
He also revealed that he had been told the person with whom he was speaking "did not believe it was intended in a malicious way".
The BBC was unable to specify the time or date of the allegation, narrowing it down to '2018 or 2019'.
Gregg Wallace breaks silence on racism claim against MasterChef co-host John Torode
Torode followed Wallace in being sacked by the BBC after allegedly using a racial slur when repeating lyrics from rapper Kanye West's hit Gold Digger at an after-work gathering.
The Australian began presenting the BBC cooking contest alongside Wallace in 2005.
Gregg and John celebrated the show's 20th anniversary in 2024 with a special dinner at Fishmongers' Hall in London.
It comes after Wallace unfollowed Torode and Faulkner on Instagram in December, with sources claiming at the time that he was 'furious' his former co-host had not defended him publicly amid the furore.
But he recently defended Torode against the racism allegations in a bombshell chat with The Sun.
In an exclusive interview he said: "I'll tell you one thing right now: John Torode is not a racist.
"I've known John for 30 years and he is not a racist.
'And as evidence of that, I'll show you the incredible diversity of the people that he has championed, MasterChef winners, over the years.
"There is no way that man is a racist. No way. And my sympathies go out to John because I don't want anybody to go through what I've been through.'
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