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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BBC News
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Ozzy Osbourne: did he really bite the head off a live bat?
When it comes to the unruly world of rock, shocking behaviour is rarely frowned upon. Just the opposite. Most of the time it's practically there are limits, few performers have pushed those generous boundaries more than John Michael Osbourne, aka Ozzy Osbourne, or the Prince of Darkness, who has died aged don't get a nickname like that by Sabbath fans initially dubbed him with it thanks to his jet black onstage persona, decadent aura and lyrics that seemed obsessed by the his actions on the night of 20 January 1982, when the body of an unfortunate creature ended up separated from its head, were bat-split crazy, even by Ozzy's excessive an event that, decades later, is still discussed as one of the most notorious moments in heavy metal oddly, this wasn't even the first time that the singer had seemingly been involved in the decapitation of an innocent more of that it comes to Ozzy and the bat, it's unsurprising that, over the years, recollections have differed on the precise turn of that was because people's memories clashed. But mostly it depended on which version of the story Ozzy was in the mood to facts about the incident, however, are unambiguous. In January 1982, Ozzy was two months into a gruelling tour promoting his second solo album, Diary of a Madman. A tradition had developed where the singer would catapult pieces of raw meat and animal parts - including intestines and liver - into the far, so revolting. And perhaps, not totally inexplicable behaviour for a man who'd once served an apprenticeship at an the tour, word quickly spread about the practice, and Ozzy's fans were nothing if not resourceful. At every venue, they knew exactly what was coming, and they turned up armed and ready to when something small and black landed on stage during a rowdy Wednesday night show at Des Moines' Veterans Memorial Auditorium, the singer thought it was a rubber here's where recollections start to veer off in different his 2010 autobiography I Am Ozzy the singer says he picked it up, stuffed it in his mouth, and chomped down."Immediately, though, something felt wrong. Very wrong. For a start my mouth was instantly full of this warm, gloopy liquid," he recalled. "Then the head in my mouth twitched." "Somebody threw a bat. I just thought it was a rubber bat. And I picked it up and put it in my mouth. I bit into it," he told the he says he realised: "Oh no, it's real. It was a real live bat."So is this the definitive version of the story - live bat thrown on stage, Ozzy bites into it? Far from hadn't always insisted the bat was alive when it was thrown towards in 2006, he gave the BBC a take on the story that was subtly, but crucially different."This bat comes on. I thought it was one of them Hallowe'en joke bats 'cos it had some string around its neck," he said."I bite into it, and I look to my left and Sharon [Osbourne, his wife and then manager] was going [gesturing no]."And I'm like, what you talking about? She [says], 'it's a dead real bat'. And I'm... I know now!"So was the unfortunate winged mammal dead or alive?Who better to confirm whether it was bereft of life and had ceased to be, than the person who claims to have actually brought the bat to the concert? Dead or alive? According to the Des Moines Register, that man was Mark was 17 at the time of the concert. And his account of the events leading up to the gory night was this: His younger brother had brought the bat home a fortnight before but, sadly, it hadn't said that, by the time he took it to the concert, it had been dead for it seems that the available evidence about this legendary piece of heavy metal excess, placed at number two in Rolling Stone magazine's list of Rock's Wildest Myths, does point to it being largely agrees that the bat did find its way into Ozzy's mouth, although it seems likely it was no longer alive by that point - something Ozzy himself concurred with. what of an eerily similar incident some nine months before in Los Angeles? Again the details vary, usually depending on who Ozzy was talking basic facts have never been in dispute. Ozzy was due to meet a group of CBS record label executives in Los Angeles, and Sharon had the idea of him bringing three live doves with giving a short speech of thanks, the plan was for Ozzy to throw them into the air, so everyone could watch them flutter away, in a symbolic gesture of alert: That's not what ended up happening. Doves of peace Ozzy had been drinking brandy all morning, and he later told rock biographer Mick Wall that a PR woman at the meeting had been seriously annoying to Wall's book, Black Sabbath: Symptoms of the Universe, Ozzy "pulled out one of these doves and bit its [expletive] head off just to shut her up"."Then I did it again with the next dove," he added, "spitting the head out on the table"."That's when they threw me out. They said I'd never work for CBS again." In version two, recounted some months later, he told Sounds' magazine's Garry Bushell a slightly different story."The scam is the bird was dead. We were planning to release it there, but it died beforehand. So rather than waste it, I bit its head off."You should have seen their faces. They all went white. They were speechless." The ringmaster of rock excess Ozzy, of course, had a reputation to uphold. After all, this was the man who'd been thrown out of Black Sabbath because, even by rock's astronomically lax standards, his drink and drug consumption was considered too while his encounters with bat and dove may not have seemed cricket to many, they - with helpful dollops of exaggeration - added significantly to Ozzy's outrageous undoubtedly gave him even greater publicity and notoriety, helping his solo career to skyrocket like a bat out of even though he might not be guilty of every misdemeanour that was attributed to him over the years, there's little doubt that he reached heights (or depths) that other rock stars never dared to meant that he was seen as the undoubted ringmaster of rock excess - a career defining reputation that stayed with him right to the end.
Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
Black Sabbath, Elton John and Rod Stewart among music giants paying tribute to Ozzy Osbourne
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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE How Ozzy Osbourne was 'haunted' by his father's death… but ultimately suffered an eerily similar fate
Legendary rocker Ozzy Osbourne has died 'surrounded by love' at the age of 76, a statement from his family revealed on Tuesday. The Black Sabbath frontman passed away following a string of health concerns, including recovery from substance abuse, multiple spinal operations, and a years-long battle with Parkinson's disease. Despite his ailing health in recent years, the musician never shied away from his fans. Most recently, Osbourne reunited with his original Black Sabbath bandmates for a farewell concert at Villa Park Stadium, less than three weeks before his passing. But according to an inside source, who's known the rock icon for several decades, the farewell concert was merely Osbourne's goodbye to performing on-stage. In fact, he was planning on releasing a new album for later in the year and hoping to reunite with his frequent collaborator, award-winning music producer Andrew Watt. 'Ozzy saw Villa Park as the farewell on his live shows, not his career,' the source exclusively told the Daily Mail. 'With the memoir, album, and TV shows, there was a lot more for him to focus on this year alone. Ozzy was always like, 'This is not the f***ing end…I have got stuff to do.' His memoir, titled Last Rites, is expected to hit shelves in October this year. The autobiography will chronicle his life and career, including his marriage to devoted wife Sharon Osbourne, as well as his recent health struggles. Osbourne had also been filming a feature-length documentary for Paramount Plus, called Ozzy Osbourne: No Escape From Now, and his family had been slated to star in a new BBC reality show called Home To Roost. The close pal admitted that Osbourne was 'looking forward to promoting' his memoir later this year, and found the whole process to be 'quite therapeutic and fun.' 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The insider revealed that John had 'dedicated his life' to working nights at the General Electric Company, so much so that when he had finally retired, Osbourne's father 'dropped dead' just a few days later. 'All his dad told the family was about doing some gardening,' they recalled. 'He went out and dug up the garden for a few days and then dropped dead, just like that. 'Ozzy felt that as hard as his workload was, John kind of had that purpose of going to work to provide for his family and have a role. And when it was absent, it kind of left him lost.' In an interview with Record Mirror in 1978, while promoting the Black Sabbath album Never Say Die, Osbourne shared that the third track of the record, called Junior's Eyes, was a tribute to his father. The musician strangely saw his father's death as a sign to keep making music and feeling the support from his fans, who the source described as his 'super power'. 'Ozzy hated the thought of just withering away and stopping altogether,' they added. The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Osbourne for comment. Osbourne's family announced his death in a statement shared on Tuesday. 'It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning,' the statement read. 'He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis.' The rocker was joined by his original Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward for the first time since 2005, as he bid an emotional farewell to his fans during his last show ever. 'You've no idea how I feel - thank you from the bottom of my heart,' Osbourne told the crowd in his final speech. The singer, who sold more than 100 million records, formed Black Sabbath in Birmingham in 1968. With hits that included Iron Man, War Pigs and Paranoid, Black Sabbath's pushing of occult themes proved both hugely popular and controversial, with a future pope even condemning Osbourne for his 'subliminal satanic influence'. Osbourne's most infamous moment came when he bit the head off a bat that had been thrown on stage during a solo performance. He later claimed he thought it was made of rubber. After being thrown out of the band in 1979 due to his drug-fueled antics, Osbourne forged a hugely successful solo career, with hits that included Crazy Train and Hellraiser. But his hellraising off stage continued. In 1989 he attempted to kill Sharon while high on drugs, and seven years before that he urinated on the treasured Alamo Cenotaph in Texas, an act that saw him banned from San Antonio for a decade. He was also injured in a quad bike crash at his UK home in 2003, an episode that had a serious impact on his fragile health. Yet there was also redemption for the troubled singer, who relaunched himself as a reality tv star in The Osbournes in the early 2000s, after getting clean from alcohol and drugs with the help of Sharon. There was a return too to Black Sabbath in 1997, when the original line-up reunited. Tributes have been pouring in for the superstar following his family's announcement of his death. Fellow musicians Sir Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, and Gene Simmons have all shared social media tributes for the star, as well as John Lennon's son Sean Ono Lennon and American rapper Ice-T.
