With his voice cracking, one MasterChef worker describes the drama of the past fortnight, which has seen both its presenters sacked in quick succession - first Gregg Wallace, and then John Torode."I'm in shock with it all. It's raw, and fresh," adds the member of production staff - who wants to remain anonymous.After months of near silence, recent events have moved at speed.BBC News has been speaking to people who have worked on the show, as well as insiders to the tense backroom discussions of recent weeks, and can reveal:
- Torode had nine complaints against him, including racist language, abusive language to junior production staff and sexual language
- Only one was upheld, for an incident on the set of MasterChef in 2018 when he allegedly used a severely offensive racist term
- Insiders reveal how a "defensive" production team tried to ride out the storm against Wallace to save his career
- The relationship between Wallace and Torode broke down and insiders say Wallace was briefing against Torode
- Tension between how production company Banijay and the BBC interpreted the findings
- The BBC intends to air the new series of MasterChef despite both presenters being sacked
There was a long wait for the report into Wallace's conduct. The full version has not been made public, but an executive summary was published on Monday.It revealed more than 40 claims against Wallace had been upheld, including one of unwelcome physical contact.Later that night, Torode revealed an allegation that he had used "an extremely offensive racist term" had also been upheld.He insisted he had "no recollection" of any of it, but by 17:00 on Tuesday, he was gone.
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