Grace Dent and Anna Haugh ‘replace Gregg Wallace and John Torode’ on MasterChef
By Lauren Del Fabbro, PA Entertainment Reporter
Restaurant critic Grace Dent and Irish chef Anna Haugh will replace Gregg Wallace and John Torode as MasterChef judges, according to reports.
Dent, 51, and Haugh, 44, will join the amateur cooking series, The Sun reported.
It comes after Wallace was sacked following a series of misconduct allegations relating to his time on the show.
Wallace, who also co-presented spin-offs Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals, issued an apology saying he was “deeply sorry for any distress caused” and that he “never set out to harm or humiliate” in the wake of an investigation which upheld 45 out of 83 allegations against him.
Meanwhile Torode, who appeared in the 21st series of MasterChef which was filmed last year, also left the show after he was the subject of an allegation of using racist language, which was upheld as part of the Lewis Silkin report.
Haugh, who runs and owns Myrtle Restaurant and The Wee Sister wine bar in London, was a regular guest and a judge for the 2022 series of MasterChef: The Professionals and reportedly took over the role from Wallace in the final episodes of the most recent amateur series.
In December, the Comfort Eating podcast host, Dent, was announced as Wallace’s replacement for Celebrity MasterChef 2025, which is yet to air, and reportedly filmed alongside Torode before his exit.
It was announced on Saturday that TV host and chef Matt Tebbutt, best known for BBC One’s Saturday Kitchen, would replace Wallace in the upcoming 18th series of MasterChef: The Professionals and join chefs Marcus Wareing and Monica Galetti as a judge.
Speaking ahead of the upcoming series, Tebbutt said it was “an absolute honour” to be working alongside Wareing and Galetti, who he described as “titans of the food world”.
“Their knowledge and uncompromising attitude is now the stuff of legend and I look forward to them taking me under their wing, and seeing the chefs get off to a flying start in the competition,” he added.
The BBC has declined to comment.
