MasterChef presenter John Torode has broken his silence days after it was announced his co-host Gregg Wallace has stepped back from the show amid an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
The Australian-born chef confessed he "loves being part of" the BBC programme and "will continue to be a part of it".
© Ken McKay/ITV/ShutterstockJohn, who has presented the cooking show alongside Gregg since 2005, said in a statement on Instagram he found the recent reports "truly upsetting" and the "thought of anyone who has appeared on our show not having a brilliant experience is awful to hear".
"Since last Friday I have been away filming MasterChef overseas," he said. "I love my job, and I love MasterChef. I love being part of it and will continue to be part of it.
"During the last few days, I've been trying to make the best cookery programme, so being busy making the show and caring for our contestants has allowed me little time to think about anything else, but that has been hard."
He added: "But as I hope everyone appreciates there is an investigation underway, which I fully support, so I cannot make any further comment at this stage and I hope that you all understand and respect my silence on the matter moving forward."
On Tuesday, the BBC announced that two MasterChef celebrity Christmas specials, a Celebrity MasterChef Christmas Cook Off and a Strictly Festive Extravaganza, have been pulled from its festive schedule.
The BBC said: "As we have said, MasterChef is an amazing competition which is life-changing for the chefs taking part and the current series of MasterChef: The Professionals is continuing as planned.
"The celebrity Christmas specials are obviously a different type of show and in the current circumstances we have decided not to broadcast them."
After the news was confirmed that Gregg had stepped down, Rod Stewart was among those to speak out about the situation, posting: "Good riddance Wallace... You humiliated my wife when she was on the show, but you had that bit cut out didn't you? You're a tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully. Karma got ya. Sir Rod Stewart."
Other stars who have come forward to complain about his behaviour include Charlotte Crosby, Ulrika Jonsson, and Kirsty Wark.
© ShutterstockGregg responded to the complaints in a video, saying: "I’ve been doing MasterChef for 20 years, amateur, celebrity and professional MasterChef, and in that time, I have worked with over 4,000 contestants of all different ages, different backgrounds, all walks of life.
"Apparently now, I’m reading in the paper, there've been 13 complaints in that time… In the newspaper, I can see the complaints coming from a handful of middle-class women of a certain age, just from Celebrity MasterChef. This isn't right."
© Ken McKay/ITV/ShutterstockHe later apologised following a major backlash to his comments, saying: "I want to apologise for any offence that I caused with my post yesterday and any upset I may have caused to a lot of people.
"I wasn't in a good headspace when I posted it, I've been under a huge amount of stress, a lot of emotion, I felt very alone, under siege yesterday when I posted it. It's obvious to me I need to take some time out now while this investigation is underway.
"I hope you understand and I do hope you accept this apology."
© Casey Gutteridge/ShutterstockMeanwhile, John became a familiar face to TV audiences in 1996 as the resident chef on ITV’s This Morning.
MasterChef launched in 2005 as a revamped version of the original 1990-2001 series, which was hosted by Loyd Grossman. The revamped 2005 series, which was called MasterChef Goes Large and was won by Thomasina Miers, reverted to its original name in 2008.
The success of the programme led to spin-off shows such as Junior MasterChef, Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals.
