The ITV festive special will see John joined by his wife Lisa Faulkner
John Torode with his wife Lisa Faulkner
John Torode’s TV comeback is set to arrive at Christmas as a major announcement about his career arrived just months after his Masterchef sacking.
According to a statement issued by BBC released in July, John was dropped from the cookery show after he was accused of using an ‘extremely offensive’ term in the workplace.
John’s, who confirmed he was the subject of an allegation of using racist language, exit arrived amid the ongoing investigation into allegations made against Gregg Wallace, another former MasterChef presenter, who John worked alongside for nearly two decades.
A spokesperson for production company Banijay Banijay said at the time: “In response to John Torode’s statement, it is important to stress that Banijay UK takes this matter incredibly seriously.
“The legal team at Lewis Silkin that investigated the allegations relating to Gregg Wallace also substantiated an accusation of highly offensive racist language against John Torode which occurred in 2018.
“This matter has been formally discussed with John Torode by Banijay UK, and whilst we note that John says he does not recall the incident, Lewis Silkin have upheld the very serious complaint. Banijay UK and the BBC are agreed that we will not renew his contract on MasterChef.”
A BBC spokesperson added that the allegation against John, which he denied, ‘involves an extremely offensive racist term being used in the workplace’ which was ‘investigated and substantiated’ by the independent investigation led by Lewis Silkin.
Grace Dent and John Torode are presenting Celebrity Masterchef(Image: BBC)
Shortly after their dismissals, John and Gregg were seen in the 2025 public version of Masterchef, which was filmed prior to them leaving the series. Additionally, John can currently be seen on Celebrity Masterchef.
Featuring the likes of Chris Hughes, former Coronation Street actress Katie McGlynn and former EastEnders star Jamie Lomas, Celebrity Masterchef sees John joined by Grace Dent, who replaced Gregg.
On Friday (November 28) it was announced by ITV that John and his wife Lisa Faulkner are returning for a festive edition of John and Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen. Revealing their Christmas daytime schedule, an ITV spokesperson said they will deliver ‘a feast of festive’ inspiration for viewers.
Management Director of Media and Entertainment, Kevin Lygo previously said at the the Edinburgh TV Festival that he ‘felt it was a bit much for us to jump on the bandwagon and just deny these shows to go out’. “We asked the producers if they had heard of any incidents and they said no,” he stated, reports the Mirror.
Meanwhile, it was also confirmed that Loose Women will air on Christmas Day for the first time. The panel show will air on December 25 following special editions of Good Morning Britain, Lorraine and This Morning.
Also airing over Christmas is James Martin’s Christmas Day, Sara Davies’ Christmas Craft Off, Love Your Christmas with Alan Titchmarsh, A Warwick Christmas Castle, Fletchers Family Farm At Christmas and Ainsley’s Festive Flavours.
