{"id":168,"date":"2025-12-14T14:39:48","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T14:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/luxuury.net\/?p=168"},"modified":"2025-12-14T14:39:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T14:39:48","slug":"top-tv-chef-joins-celebrity-masterchef-as-new-host-to-replace-axed-john-torode","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/luxuury.net\/?p=168","title":{"rendered":"Top TV chef \u2018joins Celebrity MasterChef as new host\u2019 to replace axed John Torode"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"For<\/p>\n

John Torode<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0Celebrity MasterChef<\/a>\u00a0replacement has been \u2018revealed\u2019 as a top Michelin-starred chef.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Giorgio Locatelli\u00a0is reportedly set to join\u00a0MasterChef<\/a>\u00a0to star alongside\u00a0Grace Dent<\/a>\u00a0as the newest host,\u00a0replacing John Torode<\/a>\u00a0who was axed from the show.<\/p>\n

The top TV chef, 62, has previously appeared as a guest and judge on\u00a0BBC<\/a>\u2019s Big Family Cooking Showdown as well as\u00a0Channel 4<\/a>\u2019s Celebrity Cooking School.<\/p>\n

He was also the owner of Italian restaurant Locanada Locatelli in London, which was a favourite of A-list celebrities including\u00a0Madonna<\/a> before it closed earlier this year.<\/p>\n

The chef opened the establishment with his wife Plaxy in 2002 and received a Michelin star one year later.<\/p>\n

Locatelli will reportedly join host and food critic Dent, 52, who will also\u00a0host the non-celebrity version of the show with Irish chef\u00a0Anna Haugh, 45.<\/p>\n

\n
\"MILAN,<\/div>
Top TV chef Giorgio Locatelli is reportedly set to join MasterChef(Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\"CODE<\/div>
The chef will join Grace Dent, who will also host the non-celebrity version of the show (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A source told\u00a0The Sun<\/strong><\/a>: \u2018It\u2019s time for a new era for and bosses think Giorgio is the perfect fit.<\/p>\n

\u2018He has a wealth of experience in the restaurant industry and has plenty of personality.\u2019<\/p>\n

Torode, 60,\u00a0was fired from the cooking competition earlier this year after an investigation into \u2018inappropriate conduct\u2019<\/a>\u00a0behind the scenes involving his TV co-host Gregg Wallace.<\/p>\n

The off-camera behaviour of Wallace, 61,\u00a0was the centre of a BBC probe that eventually upheld 45 claims against him<\/strong><\/a>, which he later apologised for.<\/p>\n

It was then found that Torode had\u00a0used \u2018racist language\u2019 on two separate occasions<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0while working for the BBC, amid a total of nine alleged complaints.<\/p>\n

Torode later revealed that, in the months since his removal as MasterChef co-host, he\u2019s been seeing a therapist to help him get over the \u2018grief\u2019 he\u2019s felt.<\/p>\n

\n
\"TX<\/div>
John was axed from MasterChef shortly after his co-star Gregg Wallace (Picture:BBC\/Shine TV)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking in his online newsletter,\u00a0A View From the Fridge<\/strong><\/a>, he said: \u2018Therapy over the past few months has entitled me to no longer \u201cbe brave\u201d but instead be real.<\/p>\n

\u2018Fear is the instinct that keeps us alive, but should grief and fear meet each other I wonder how much damage it can do when we decide to shut it away.\u2019<\/p>\n

He continued: \u2018What is becoming easier is being able to talk and to vocalise how I feel as I come to terms with the past 5 months and the impact it has had.<\/p>\n

\n

MasterChef controversy timeline<\/h2>\n
\n

October 2024 \u2013 Misconduct claims against Gregg Wallace first emerge<\/p>\n

November 2024 \u2013 Gregg Wallace steps away from MasterChef amid allegations<\/p>\n

December 2024 \u2013 Gregg Wallace makes statement against \u2018middle-class women of a certain age\u2019<\/p>\n

December 2024 \u2013 BBC pulls MasterChef Christmas special<\/p>\n

December 2024 \u2013 Grace Dent announced as Gregg Wallace\u2019s replacement<\/p>\n

April 2025 \u2013 Gregg Wallace reveals suicidal thoughts after investigation<\/p>\n

July 2025 \u2013 Gregg Wallace plans to sue BBC and apologises after 45 allegations are upheld<\/p>\n

July 2025 \u2013 John Torode sacked from MasterChef \u2018for using racist language\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018My tumultuous physical, illogical and physiological state of mind has not been easy\u2026 Life has changed forever for me and for those close to me. There is no sympathy searching here, just honesty.\u2019<\/p>\n

However, Torode stayed at the BBC slightly longer than Wallace, which meant he was able to film a handful of\u00a0Celebrity MasterChef<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0episodes alongside Dent.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the\u00a0Sunday Times<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0about Torode, Dent said: \u2018I absolutely adore John Torode. He is one of the kindest, most concerned, clever, thoughtful men that I know.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John Torode\u2019s\u00a0Celebrity MasterChef\u00a0replacement has been \u2018revealed\u2019 as a top Michelin-starred chef. Giorgio Locatelli\u00a0is reportedly set to join\u00a0MasterChef\u00a0to star<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/luxuury.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/luxuury.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/luxuury.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luxuury.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luxuury.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=168"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/luxuury.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":170,"href":"https:\/\/luxuury.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168\/revisions\/170"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luxuury.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/luxuury.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luxuury.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luxuury.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}