BBC boss breaks silence on MasterChef's future after Gregg Wallace saga & John Torode asked to QUIT over ‘racist remark'

Scottish Sun

5 days ago

TIM Davie has broken his silence on MasterChef's future after the bombshell Gregg Wallace report - and John Torode's alleged racist remark.
The investigation, which upheld 45 of 83 allegations against Wallace, 60, dropped yesterday.
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John Torode confirmed he was one of the people mentioned in the report into Wallace's behaviour
Credit: PA
The dossier also upheld a complaint that an unnamed person used a racial phrase once several years ago.
Torode confirmed to The Sun last night it referred to him, but said: 'I have absolutely no recollection of this, and I do not believe that it happened.'
Speaking about whether MasterChef has a future, in light of the saga, Tim Davie said today: "I absolutely think it does, I think a great programme that's loved by audiences is much bigger than individuals.
"It absolutely can survive and prosper, but we've got to make sure we're in the right place in terms of the culture of the show."
The BBC Director General was also asked about whether Torode would remain on the show.
"There has to be follow-up, so the BBC, in some ways, we're quite simple on this, if someone is found to not live up to the values we expect, the independent company, Banijay, in this case, to take action and report back to us on what they have done," he said.
"These aren't BBC employees, but we absolutely expect action to be taken, that's the first thing I'd say."
His statement comes in light of the BBC Annual Report published today.
The scandal-hit BBC boss has been given a sizeable pay rise to earn £544,999 a year.
The broadcaster's annual report revealed the Director-General's pay packet swelled by around £15,000 or 2.5% over the past 12 months - despite controversies including those involving Wallace, Bob Vylan and a Hamas documentary.
Masterchef meltdown as BBC asked John Torode to RESIGN over 'racist remark' before Gregg Wallace sacking
The Beeb is required to publish the pay and expenses for all senior leaders earning over £178,000 annually "in the BBC's public services", according to its report.
Davie - who took up his current role in 2020 - was paid an estimated £529,999 in salary and taxable benefits in 2023-24.
He insisted today: "I simply think I'm in a place where I can work to improve dramatically the BBC and lead it in the right way."
Key points in the BBC Annual Report
Gary Lineker has topped the list of highest earners for another year
He was followed by Zoe Ball, who remains second best-paid at the Beeb despite her dramatic pay cut
More than two thirds of the broadcaster's top 20 earners received pay rises
BBC Breakfast star Naga Munchetty received a boost to her pay, but co-host Charlie Stayt's salary stayed the same
Disgraced presenter Huw Edwards did not feature on the list after his exit from the broadcaster
Meanwhile the number of people paying for a TV licence fell by around 300,000 last year - almost two per cent in all
He added: "We will make mistakes, but I think as a leadership and myself, I've been very clear, and I think we have been decisive.
"There's enormous, massive noise and different opinions about what we should do, but I think we have been clear.
"We are making the right decisions. We're being transparent on what we do, and I think that's what counts.
"I would also say that under my tenure I've set a very clear stall out in terms of impartiality."
Asked by The Sun why Davie had received a £15,000 bonus despite significant failures throughout the year, BBC's chair of the board Dr Samir Shah said: "His pay has been frozen since 2021 and I think that it is reasonable.
"There is little doubt that Tim's pay is significantly under [the going rate].
"If you look at the figures, trust levels have gone up - if you look at the report, the actual performance of the BBC has been exceptional."
He added: "I have no problems with awarding him with what is a very small bonus - which still ends up [with] his salary being significantly lower than any of his peers in the sector."
It comes as departing Match of the Day host Gary Lineker ended his time with the Corporation by topping its pay league for the eighth consecutive year, raking in £1.35million.
He ranked the top highest earner, closely followed by presenter Zoe Ball who takes home an eye-watering £515,000 a year.
Alan Shearer, Greg James and Fiona Bruce were all in the top three earners.
SCANDAL-HIT BBC
The Annual Report and Tim Davie's pay rise comes after a tough year for the Beeb.
It also featured a column by Dr Shah in which he referenced the "profoundly shocking revelations" involving disgraced News At Ten anchor Huw Edwards.
Just yesterday bombshell inquiry, carried out by law firm Lewis Silkin for production company Banijay, unveiled a litany of complaints against Gregg Wallace.
The report found out of the 83 allegations against Wallace, 45 were substantiated.
Most of them involved inappropriate sexual language and humour.
But, the investigation also looked at 10 complaints made about other people, from the period between 2012 to 2018/2019.
Two were substantiated, relating to inappropriate language, one for swearing and the other for racist language.
'Lewis Silkin's findings include two further allegations which were upheld, relating to other individuals," stated the report.
"The BBC takes these findings very seriously and we have asked Banijay UK to take action to address these issues, which is underway.
"This will be completed as a priority."
Of the substantiated claims regarding Wallace, some related to other inappropriate language, being in a state of undress, and one case of unwanted physical contact.
The report concluded 94 per cent of the allegations against Wallace related to behaviour which is said to have occurred between 2005 and 2018.
There was one substantiated allegation after 2018.
Meanwhile, Wallace's long-term MasterChef co-host John Torode last night confirmed he was accused of racism in the report.
The BBC also told the presenter to pretend he had mental health issues after accusing him of racism, it was claimed.
And, shockingly, sources said the BBC and production company Banijay asked John to resign from the beleaguered show last week and claim he had mental health problems — to which he refused.
The findings of a separate inquiry into the BBC documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, were revealed.
Ofcom has since confirmed it will be launching its own probe into the production.
Earlier the BBC admitted to breaching their own editorial guidelines by failing to disclose the narrator was the son of a Hamas official.
And, just last week BBC bosses were told to "get a grip quicker" after the live stream of punk rap duo Bob Vylan's Glastonbury set was left on air despite controversial comments which some interpreted as antisemitic.
Ofcom boss Dame Melanie Dawes insisted there is a risk the public lose faith in the corporation if coverage isn't pulled swiftly and investigations are lengthy.
The broadcaster had apologised after the band's lead singer chanted 'death, death' to Israeli defence forces during their festival set last month.