After nearly 20 years at the helm of MasterChef together, John Torode and Gregg Wallace have admitted they aren’t actually that close.
The pair have hosted the BBC cooking series since 2005, however this week it was announced Gregg, 60, would be stepping down.
It comes after the broadcaster revealed it would be undergoing an investigation into historical allegations of misconduct.
The presenter has been accused by 13 people of making inappropriate sexual comments, including former Newsnight host Kirsty Wark, who competed on Celebrity MasterChef in 2011, however Gregg’s lawyers have denied all allegations.
Despite their long-standing professional relationship, seven years ago John, 59, declared they ‘aren’t really friends’.
Here’s everything that’s been said about their personal relationship since then.
When did Gregg Wallace and John Torode meet?
Although they started presenting on screen together in 2005, John and Gregg met years earlier.
After moving to the UK in the 1990s John was working at a restaurant in Chelsea, London, when he first encountered Gregg, who was the owner of George Allan’s Greengrocers.
Speaking about his first impressions of Gregg in a 2013 interview with The Independent, John said he was ‘unabashed at what he wanted to do’ and had a ‘can-do attitude’.
But when preparing for the launch of MasterChef and told Gregg could be his potential co-host John had ‘misgivings as Gregg was big, brash and loud’.
‘Actually, nothing has changed, except no one expected the success the show has had,’ he quipped.
Spending 200 days a year filming together John said they did become closer but their relationship ‘inevitably got strained’ and they used to ‘fight about stuff’.
John went on to explain he felt ‘frustrated’ as he wanted to expand their friendship, but he didn’t feel Gregg was on the same page.
Meanwhile Gregg said while he felt he could ‘shared my worries about everything’ with John, going to his home or having his co-host over would feel ‘weird’ and could ‘upset this delicate balance by changing it’.
What have they said about their relationship?
A year after acting as Gregg’s best man at his wedding to wife Anne-Marie Sterpini, John dropped the bombshell revelation that they were ‘not actually friends’.
Despite knowing each other for 26 years by that point, John said: ‘It’s funny, we’ve never been friends.’
‘We’ve not been to each other’s houses… He’s so OCD, he wouldn’t know what to do. He’d build it up in his mind for three days, and probably make himself quite sick, then he’d have an argument with his wife and not turn up,’ he told The Mirror.
‘If I went to his house, he would feel like he wasn’t in control.’
However, the following year, during a joint interview with the same publication, they gushed about each other.
While Gregg said his co-host had supported him through mental health struggles, John said Gregg had ‘kindness and a big heart’.
But then in 2021 John again commented on their relationship.
‘I think because we’re so friendly on screen, they find it really difficult to understand why we’re not as friendly off screen,’ he told the Radio Times.
Explaining how it was ‘well documented that we don’t socialise outside of work’ John said they still hadn’t been to each other’s houses but said their relationship was ‘calm and in good stead’.
Earlier this year Gregg also poked fun at rumours of a rift referencing John being his best man at his most recent wedding.
‘You make your mind up what’s going on there between me and Mr Torode,’ he added.
Last month John’s wife, Holby City star Lisa Faulkner, also spoke about Gregg making ‘rude joke after rude joke’ when she competed on Celebrity MasterChef in 2010.
Speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival Lisa revealed what she’d overheard.
‘Gregg was telling – I’m probably not allowed to say this…Gregg just told rude joke after rude joke to the crew,’ she told the audience.
‘You’re just sitting there and if you’re on the front bench just chopping away thinking, “I’ve got ten minutes left”, and he’s saying, “So this girl walked into a bar…”
‘And I’m going, “Please, I don’t want to hear this joke”.’
Has John commented on Gregg standing down from MasterChef?
Since it was announced Gregg had stood down from MasterChef John has not commented on the development.
Instead, a few hours after the news broke, John posted a selfie following outside his gym following a workout.
‘Love spin. Another bloody great class thank you,’ he added.
MasterChef is streaming on BBC iPlayer.
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