OPINION

James Martin would be a great fit for Masterchef (Image: Getty)

First it was Gregg Wallace. Now it’s John Torode. And just like that, the BBC’s most iconic cooking competition has lost the two men who’ve been its slightly shouty, often smug faces for the last two decades. So what happens now? Can MasterChef be saved, or is it finally time to bin it like an overcooked scallop?

Let’s be honest – the show had become stale. Gregg Wallace’s lad-in-a-larder routine wore thin years ago. And John Torode? A man so wooden he should’ve been cooked over, not alongside, the gas flame. Between Gregg’s pantomime reactions and John’s resting disinterest, MasterChef has been on autopilot for far too long.

But instead of quietly letting it die, the BBC has a chance to rescue this format – and they should. The solution? Do what they rarely have the guts to do – look at what ITV is doing better and nick it.

Start with Alison Hammond. She’s the antidote to Gregg Wallace’s bluster – funny, authentic, and actually liked by the public. She’s not going to leer at contestants or bark about jus. She’ll bring genuine warmth without all the cringe. In other words, she’s everything the show’s been missing for years. She’s proven she can do it with Great British Bake Off, now she can graduate to a larger audience.

But let’s not turn MasterChef into a glorified This Morning segment. If Alison’s the people’s pick, she needs a chef who can actually critique a confit duck leg without checking Google. Enter James Martin. Dependable, professional, and yes, middle-England’s silver fox. He has the culinary gravitas and the ratings pull.

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This is the pairing that could stop MasterChef from becoming another casualty of the BBC’s reluctance to move with the times. The public don’t want tired faces, fake chemistry or presenters who look like they’ve wandered in from a wine tasting at Top Gear HQ.

If the BBC has any sense, they’ll admit they overcooked it with Gregg and John, and serve up something people actually want to digest.