Grace Dent has been confirmed as Gregg Wallace‘s replacement for the new series of Celebrity MasterChef.
Restaurant critic Dent, who has frequently appeared as a guest judge on the BBC series, will host alongside John Torode for the 20th series of the celebrity version of the cooking show. She had been rumoured to be in line for the job next year.
Wallace will step away from the role amid an external review into historical allegations of misconduct.
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What Grace Dent and John Torode said about the MasterChef news
Dent, who last year was a contestant on MasterChef: Battle Of The Critics, said: “I’ve been watching MasterChef since I was a girl sitting with my dad on the sofa. My whole family watches it. It’s all about uncovering and championing talent – and to have ended up in this position, is more than a dream to me.
“I’m so excited that I can’t eat, which is severely detrimental to a restaurant critic. I feel very lucky to be stepping in for the next Celebrity MasterChef. I can’t wait to meet the fresh celebrity faces for 2025.”
Torode, who has presented MasterChef since 2005, welcomed his new co-star saying: “I have loved working with Grace on MasterChef over the years. She has been an excellent guest, an inspiring critic and also set some incredible challenges.
“Expertise is what MasterChef is all about, from the contestants to our wonderful production team, to us as judges.
“The love of food, the love of MasterChef, and that unquestionable expertise, makes Grace the perfect person to step in alongside me as judge for the forthcoming Celebrity MasterChef series.”
Reaction to Grace Dent replacing Gregg Wallace
Josie Gibson, who appeared alongside Dent in I’m A Celebrity in 2023, backed her for the role by saying on This Morning: “Grace I am over the moon for you. She is the best choice. I was with her in the jungle. She is witty, she is kind, she is gorgeous. A really nice woman, she had me in hysterics.”
Dent quit I’m A Celebrity early over medical reasons.
Kalpna Patel-Knight, the BBC’s head of entertainment, said: “Grace Dent is the perfect choice to step in for the next series of Celebrity MasterChef.
“Grace is not only an energetic and well-established member of the MasterChef team, but is also a world renowned food critic, so she will certainly keep the next batch of celebrities on their toes.”
Viewers were keen on the new signing, too, as one person commented on X: “Grace Dent in for Gregg Wallace should have happened years ago. Wittier, sharper and actually knows her stuff.”
Someone else agreed: “Can’t lie this is actually a really good move. Grace Dent is an actual restaurant critic so it’ll really up the pressure for the celebs next series.”
Another fan wrote: “Grace Dent is a great choice of judge for #MasterChef . It will remain a great TV show with a good format and quite easily rise above the Greg Wallace debacle.”
The latest allegations against Gregg Wallace
The most recent series of MasterChef: The Professionals continued to air amid a storm of allegations against Wallace, with two MasterChef celebrity Christmas specials, a Celebrity MasterChef Christmas Cook Off and a Strictly Festive Extravaganza, pulled from the BBC’s festive schedule.
Wallace’s lawyers previously told the BBC “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.
Accusations about his behaviour have come in from many women who have worked with him, including Celebrity MasterChef contestants Kirsty Wark, Penny Lancaster and Aasmah Mir, MasterChef contestant Jackie Kearney, and Wallace’s autobiography ghostwriter Shannon Kyle.
Speaking on Loose Women last week, Lancaster, whose husband Sir Rod Stewart had accused Wallace in a social media post of humiliating her on Celebrity MasterChef, said: “I most definitely was witness and victim to some of the bullying and harassment behaviour of Gregg Wallace and unfortunately, a lot of those involved in the production team were also witness to that.”
Kyle alleged he had touched her bottom during a TV appearance, in a separate incident she alleged he gave her “thigh a rub” every time he changed gears in his sports car and another time she claimed he dropped his towel in front of her when she arrived to work on the 2012 book.
What we don’t know
With ongoing investigations into the allegations against Wallace, we don’t yet know what the outcome will be.
Production company Banijay, responsible for the MasterChef programmes, are investigating claims about his behaviour on set, while the BBC have said they are conducting their own investigation into working practices.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We will provide whatever assistance we can to the investigation. We are already running our own review into workplace culture. It is vital that we have an industry that is not only committed to the highest standards of behaviour and conduct, but that is reflected in people’s experiences. We have always been clear that should people want to raise issues with the BBC, they will be taken very seriously.”
Although Wallace has stepped away from his hosting role on the series and Christmas specials featuring him have been cancelled, we also don’t yet know whether he will return to the series in the future.
It also remains to be seen whether Dent will step in to replace him for the main MasterChef series and The Professionals as well as the celebrity version.