John Torode and wife Lisa Faulkner showed their faces at a showbiz bash (Image: Getty)
Amanda Holden hosted a star-studded garden party at her Surrey home over the bank holiday weekend, with John Torode and his wife Lisa Faulkner among many of the famous guests. The celebration came just weeks after John’s shock departure from MasterChef. The Britain’s Got Talent judge, 54, invited a host of celebrity pals to mark the renovation of her garden.
Sharing photos with her followers, Amanda gushed she’d had the “most amazing day” surrounded by her “lovely friends”. Guests included long-time pal Lisa, 53, and her husband John, 60, alongside Alan Carr, Angela Griffin, Tamzin Outhwaite and Nicola Stephenson.
Amanda Holden hosted a star-studded garden party at her Surrey home (Image: Instagram )
Lisa and John teased their night out in advance, posting a snap in matching white outfits. John captioned it: “Sunday best and so out with [Lisa] & wonderful friends.” Amanda later shared photos of the couple mingling in the garden, writing: “My lovely friends at our Mexican garden party! Loads more pics to follow.”
Lisa responded: “Such a lovely day! thank you for a wonderful party.” John also reposted the images, adding: “That was such fun. Thanks Mandy and Crispy.”
Amanda went all out for the evening bash, even posting a video of the celebrations. She assured fans: “Everything was bought and paid for,” while giving a “big shout out” to the event planners and vendors behind the scenes.
The light-hearted afternoon came after a difficult month for John. Last month, production company Banijay confirmed his MasterChef contract would not be renewed following an investigation into allegations of racist language.
The law firm Lewis Silkin found that an accusation of “highly offensive racist language” against John had been substantiated. John has firmly denied the claim, stating: “Although I haven’t heard from anyone at the BBC or Banijay – I am seeing and reading that I’ve been ‘sacked’ from MasterChef and I repeat that I have no recollection of what I’m accused of.
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John Torode and his wife Lisa Faulkner among the famous guests (Image: Instagram )
“The enquiry could not even state the date or year of when I am meant to have said something wrong. I’d hoped that I’d have some say in my exit from a show I’ve worked on since its relaunch in 2005, but events in last few days seem to have prevented that.”
The BBC issued its own statement, saying: “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. 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. We will not tolerate racist language of any kind. John Torode’s contract on MasterChef will not be renewed.”
