MasterChef fans start campaign for telly favourite to land hosting spot after John Torode and Gregg Wallace axed
Torode was axed from the BBC favourite after 20 years this weekend, after a complaint of racist language was upheld against him during the investigation into co-host Gregg Wallace's behaviour.
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The chef has maintained he has 'no recollection' of the incident itself and did not believe it happened, with the report noting a complaint was not received at the time, but had been raised with investigators.
The BBC was also unable to specify the time or date of the allegation, narrowing it down to '2018 or 2019'.
Regardless, after the production team confirmed they would not be renewing his contract, Torode acknowledged in his own statement it was 'time to pass the cutlery to somebody else' when it came to the show.
Now fans have started speculating over who could take his place, with Andi Oliver emerging the current favourite.
Andi, mother of another presenting fave Miquita Oliver, has been host of Great British Menu for the past nine years – another BBC long-running cooking show that pits established chefs against each other in heats before the finale banquet.
Now cooking show superfans believe she could be the saviour of the flailing show now that both of the hosts have been booted.
Speaking on Reddit, one fan wrote: 'Probably jumping the gun on new presenters, But Andi Oliver and Lisa Goodwin-Allen were a great double act in GBM.'
'Andi Oliver, Grace [Dent] and Jay [Rayner],' responded another.
"I think they're among a small group that would at least make it feel like there was a reason to keep watching.
'I suspect it'll be a mash up of one of the mainstays with a whole new person from the bottom drawer of the beeb to 'reinvigorate' the series though,' they added.
Masterchef meltdown as BBC asked John Torode to RESIGN over 'racist remark' before Gregg Wallace sacking
'Andi would be beyond excellent,' said a second. 'I'd also love to see Jay Rayner in the role. What about a three presenter lineup?'
The Story So Far
Torode's exit comes eight months after co-host Gregg Wallace had multiple complaints made against him while on the set of MasterChef.
Following the complaints, an inquiry carried out by law firm Lewis Silkin for production company Banijay produced a report that upheld 45 of 83 allegations of bad behaviour against Wallace.
Of all the complaints, only one is believed to involve Torode in any way, with the chef reportedly making a 'racist remark' in a social situation, without malicious intent and with an immediate apology.
A source close to him saying he was 'absolutely devastated to have been pulled into this mess'.
The dad of four later said in a statement: 'The allegation is I did so sometime between 2018 or 2019, in a social situation, and the person I was speaking with did not believe it was intended in a malicious way and I apologised immediately afterwards.
"I have absolutely no recollection of any of this, and I do not believe that it happened.
'However, I want to be clear that I've always had the view that any racial language is wholly unacceptable in any environment.
'I'm shocked and saddened by the allegation as I would never wish to cause anyone any offence.'
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