"John Torode didn't do anything. There was no emotion."
Celebrity MasterChef contestant Aasmah Mir has expressed sympathy for Gregg Wallace after speaking out about his alleged inappropriate language on the BBC show.
The radio presenter, who competed in 2017, had previously complained to the production about Gregg asking her to tell a colleague at the BBC that she was a “sexy b***h”.
Last week, Gregg Wallace was dismissed by production company Banijay following a seven-month investigation. The report upheld 45 of 83 allegations of inappropriate behaviour against him.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Aasmah described her experience with Gregg as “uncomfortable” but said she feels sorry for him.
She said: “I feel sorry for him, I do feel sorry for Gregg Wallace because of the neurodivergence, which is quite obvious here.”
Aasmah criticised the production company for failing to intervene sooner:
“But someone – the production company – should have stepped in earlier and said, ‘this is not acceptable’. We wouldn’t have the mess we have today.”
Aasmah recalled Gregg’s alleged comment during 2024’s controversy, when he temporarily stepped down as MasterChef host amid the investigation.
Speaking about how it made her feel, she said: “It’s not the worst thing in the world, no one has died but it was an uncomfortable experience.
“I remember feeling destabilised and I remember my cheeks were burning because I was thinking, ‘What happened there?'”
She added that co-host John Torode did not respond to Gregg’s comment.
“No one said anything. Both Gregg Wallace and John Torode looked completely blank, poker face. Like nothing had happened.”
Criticising John’s apparent lack of reaction, she added:
“I don’t know how many of the substantiated allegations he witnessed so I can only talk about my own, but all I know is Gregg Wallace used an incredibly inappropriate term and John Torode didn’t do anything. There was no emotion.
“That could be because it was 2017, it had been going on since 2005 – the programme.
“Maybe he’d just become used to it? You would expect some emotion on his face perhaps, but maybe he was just used to it and that’s not his fault necessarily.
“It’s Gregg Wallace’s [fault] for putting him in that position.”
Earlier this week, John Torode was also sacked from MasterChef after an allegation of racist language against him was upheld in the Lewis Silkin report investigating Gregg Wallace’s behaviour.
The BBC said: “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.”
John, who claims to have “no recollection” of the incident, is reportedly preparing to take legal action against the BBC.
A source told The Mirror: “He wants to pursue them for unfair dismissal. He’s telling people there is no proof of his supposed comment. It was not in a work capacity, it was just hearsay. John is determined to clear his name.”
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