BREAKINGNEWS: The BBC have released a LENGTHY STATEMENT as they announced that John Torode’s MasterChef contract will not be renewed

John Torode has been sacked from MasterChef after a report upheld allegations of him using racist language while working on the show, the BBC have confirmed. In a statement from the broadcasters on Tuesday, it was confirmed that the TV host will not be returning to the popular cooking programme.

The statement, in full, read: “John Torode has identified himself as having an upheld allegation of using racist language against him. This allegation – which involves an extremely offensive racist term being used in the workplace – was investigated and substantiated by the independent investigation led by the law firm, Lewis Silkin. John Torode denies the allegation. He has stated he has no recollection of the alleged incident and does not believe that it happened. He also says that any racial language is wholly unacceptable in any environment.”

It continued: “The BBC takes this upheld finding extremely seriously. We will not tolerate racist language of any kind and, as we have already said, we told Banijay UK, the makers of MasterChef, that action must be taken. John Torode’s contract on MasterChef will not be renewed.”

Banijay UK also said it “takes this matter incredibly seriously” and said Lewis Silkin “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,” it added. “Banijay UK and the BBC are agreed that we will not renew his contract on MasterChef.”

On Monday, Torode broke his silence on the allegations, claiming that he had “no recollection” of the incident, adding: “I do not believe that it happened.”

His sacking follows in the footsteps of his co-star, Gregg Wallace, who was hit with an eight-month investigation, which upheld 45 out of 83 complaints of bad behaviour resulting in his axing. He has always denied the claims.

Just days after the verdict on Wallace was announced, the document also upheld a complaint that an unnamed person used a racial phrase once several years ago.

Ahead of being formally identified, Torode took to Instagram and issued a statement, writing: “For the sake of transparency, I can confirm that I am the individual who is alleged to have used racial language on one occasion.”

He added: “The allegation is that I did so sometime in 2018 or 2019, in a social setting, and that the person I was speaking with did not believe that it 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.”