logo
MasterChef presenter John Torode says allegation he used racist language upheld in report

MasterChef presenter John Torode says allegation he used racist language upheld in report

Yahooa day ago
MasterChef presenter John Torode says an allegation he used "racial language" was upheld in a report as part of a review into the behaviour of his former co-presenter Gregg Wallace.
The report, led by law firm Lewis Silkin, found .
There were also two standalone allegations made against other people.
In a statement posted on his Instagram page, Torode said he was one of those people, but added that he had "no recollection of the incident" and said he "did not believe that it happened".
He commented: "Following publication of the executive summary of the investigation into Gregg Wallace while working on MasterChef, I am aware of speculation that I am one of the two other individuals against whom an allegation has been upheld.
"For the sake of transparency, I confirm that I am the individual who is alleged to have used racial language on one occasion.
"The allegation is that I did so sometime in 2018 or 2019, in a social situation, and that the person I was speaking with did not believe that it was intended in a malicious way and that 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."
Wallace, 60, said he was "deeply sorry" for causing any distress, and never set out to "harm or humiliate".
While the majority of the substantiated claims related to inappropriate sexual language and humour, one related to "unwanted physical contact", and three were about being "in a state of undress".
The report said the number of sustained allegations made Wallace's return to MasterChef "untenable".
In a statement on Monday, Wallace said "some of (his) humour and language missed the mark", but he said, after nearly 20 years on MasterChef, "I now see that certain patterns, shaped by traits I've only recently begun to understand, may have been misread".
Wallace, who said a "late autism diagnosis" had helped him understand how he is "perceived", criticised the BBC, saying the corporation had left him "exposed to trial by media".
"This has been brutal," he said.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump Curses as White House Faith Office Lunch Takes Bizarre Turn
Trump Curses as White House Faith Office Lunch Takes Bizarre Turn

Yahoo

time24 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Trump Curses as White House Faith Office Lunch Takes Bizarre Turn

Things got a bit awkward during the White House Faith Office luncheon on Monday. Not only did President Donald Trump curse in front of faith leaders—calling Biden-era indictments against him 'bulls--t'—he raged that he he had been investigated more than the gangster Al Capone, bragged he has 'always made money,' and incorrectly claimed gas prices are the lowest they have been in 50 years. Those topics did not appear to be part of Trump's prepared remarks. As he addressed assembled religious business leaders from the podium, he looked down occasionally at his speech but went off on tangents as he worked his way through the text. 'I've ended the radical left war on faith, and we're once again protecting religious freedom instead of destroying it, and God is once again welcomed back into our public square,' Trump said, clearly part of his prepared remarks. Trump, 79, compared himself to Capone moments later. He characterized the notorious gangster, believed to have murdered over 200 people, as 'great.' 'I was under investigation more than the late, great, Alphonse Capone,' Trump said. 'Think of it. Al Capone would kill people for dinner. If he left the room and he didn't like him, he'd have him shot, killed, buried under a building someplace, as part of the foundation of a building. They're all over the place, and I said I had more time under investigation than the legendary Alphonse Capone, or probably anybody else.' Trump then misremembered that he had been indicted four times in 2023, not five. 'The one thing I did that was very helpful, I was indicted five times. Indicted, that wasn't a word that was in—my father's looking down, my mother's looking down, that my son's not supposed to be indicted,' he said. 'I think I got indicted five times, impeached two times. All bulls--t, right? Terrible stuff.' The luncheon crowd, comprising 60 CEOs and business leaders who donate to faith-aligned charities, did not appear to mind the president's meandering, as they clapped and cheered throughout his speech as he rambled. 'Gas prices have reached the lowest level in five decades,' Trump remarked at one point. 'Actually, it's going to be, we're going to see some really good numbers where, you know, drill, baby drill, drill, baby drill. I've got to make sure that people can afford to produce the gas. ... 'But the gas has gotten to the lowest level in decades, and you're seeing $1.99 $1.98. I saw $1.95 at certain states, not California, because every time it goes down, they add taxes onto it,' Trump rambled. 'All they do is they keep adding taxes. Terrible governor, doesn't know what he's doing. He may be, he may be a candidate, but if you, if you go by success, you can't have him be a candidate.' Fox News reported that the White House luncheon is the 'first event of its kind.' The White House Faith Office was created by executive order in February. Trump grew up in a Reformed Church but rarely attends services as an adult. He has made a habit of name-dropping God since entering politics a decade ago, and he won the presidency in 2016 off the backs of Evangelical voters who later became his MAGA base.

Harry Potter fans divided over first image of Nick Frost's Hagrid
Harry Potter fans divided over first image of Nick Frost's Hagrid

Yahoo

time26 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Harry Potter fans divided over first image of Nick Frost's Hagrid

Production is officially underway on HBO's forthcoming Harry Potter series and the studio has released a first-look image of actor Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, which has caused some debate among fans. The 53-year-old will play the friendly groundskeeper alongside newcomer Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, who was also pictured in costume this week while filming at Warner Bros Studios in Leavesden. Fans were left divided over Frost's transformation, with some declaring they were 'loving' the actor in the iconic role, while others said his costume looked like 'cosplaying'. 'I'm so sorry this already looks like a parody show,' one person wrote on X/Twitter. 'Who exactly asked for this?' another fan questioned. Referring to the original Hagrid actor, Robbie Coltrane, another said: 'Love Nick Frost, but no chance of out-Hagrid-ing Hagrid.' The TV adaptation of the famous franchise, which is expected to debut in 2027, confirmed by HBO Max in 2023, aims to be a 'faithful adaptation of the beloved Harry Potter book series by author and executive producer JK Rowling'. The series is expected to run for a decade, with each season based on one of the seven Rowling books. The books follow the story of 11-year-old Harry Potter as he learns of his acceptance to Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry, and his attempts to defeat the evil Lord Voldemort. Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid in HBO'sforthcoming Harry Potter series (HBO) In May last year, HBO announced that after nearly 30,000 auditions for the three lead roles, McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout had been cast as Harry, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Casting for most of the leading characters has been announced in the last few months. Paapa Essiedu is playing potions professor Severus Snape, Janet McTeer is acting as deputy Hogwarts headmistress and Gryffindor House head Minerva McGonagall, and Frost as Rubeus Hagrid. The actors have faced criticism from some fans calling for a boycott of the series due to Rowling's views on transgender people which many consider transphobic. However, Frost, known for Shaun of the Dead, made clear in an interview that his opinions 'don't align in any way, shape or form' with those of the franchise creator. Last month, Rowling, 59, delivered her early verdict on the series in a post on X. 'I read the first two episodes of the forthcoming HBO Harry Potter series and they are SO, SO, SO GOOD!' the author said. In response, a user asked the author: 'So you are not doing the writing for this show?' to which, the author clarified: 'No, but I've worked closely with the extremely talented writers.' Rubeus Hagrid was previously played by Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane in the Harry Potter franchise, who died from multiple organ failure in 2022, aged 72, after starring in all eight films as the beloved half-giant.

Anne-Marie didn't want to be left alone in her house amid postnatal anxiety battle
Anne-Marie didn't want to be left alone in her house amid postnatal anxiety battle

Yahoo

time26 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Anne-Marie didn't want to be left alone in her house amid postnatal anxiety battle

Anne-Marie's postnatal anxiety was "so bad" she didn't want to be left alone following the birth of her first child. The Baby Don't Hurt Me singer has daughter Seven, 17 months, and a son, two months, with her rapper husband Slowthai. Following Seven's birth, the 34-year-old star was diagnosed with postnatal anxiety, which she hadn't heard of before, and six months later she went through postnatal depression. Speaking to Scott Mills on The Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2, she said: "I actually had anxiety so bad when I first had Seven and I didn't want to be left alone. "I was like, 'Don't leave the house, don't go there, don't go there.' "And I didn't know there was such thing as postnatal anxiety. I only knew about postnatal depression. So I was like, 'Oh, OK, that's a new one.' "So then I learned all about that, and then I went through postnatal depression. And that was about six months after Seven was born." Anne-Marie now attends a therapy session once a week, and while she has had a "rollercoaster" relationship with it, therapy has become her "best friend". She said: "You know what, therapy and me, that's a rollercoaster as well, because I started in lockdown, and I've done it consistently, and then I felt like I was OK, and I stopped doing it. "And then I made the third album, and I was like, 'I don't need therapy anymore. I'm fine.' "Then I had Seven and then I was like, 'OK, I'm sorry if you saw any of the interviews where I said I don't need you anymore, can I have you back?!' So now I do it again once a week." Asked if there was any advice she would give to anyone going through something similar, she said: "Probably speak to someone. "Because I just felt like, 'Oh, this is just how I'm supposed to feel.' "Because, you know, my hormones are all over the place, and I'm tired, but my iron was low, so tiredness was coming from my iron deficiency. "It's like there's so many other options to what it could be than just being you're a mum now, you know, so therapy is my best friend. "But also tell people, because I never asked for help, and that's why I got so tired, right? And people think that you're sweet, when you're pretending to be OK." Anne-Marie now feels like her brain is returning to "normal" after being "rewired", and she is "happy again". She added: "I look different. I feel different. My brain is rewired. I swear everything has changed. "I just feel like now I'm slowly getting my brain back to normal. Well, it wasn't normal in the first place, bear in mind! "But it feels like I actually feel happy again. It's weird, because obviously I'm happy that I've had children, and I love them."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store