4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
MasterChef's John Torode opens up about marriage as Lisa Faulker admits 'we're doing our own thing'
John Torode and Lisa Faulkner met when the soapstar appeared on Celebrity Masterchef, and while they initially said their relationship was platonic, romance blossomed
John Torode and Lisa Faulkner have offered a glimpse into their marriage, revealing they frequently "do their own thing". The cooking duo first crossed paths when Lisa triumphed on Celebrity MasterChef in 2010.
Despite both being wed to different partners at the time, their friendship developed into romance, with John, 59, capturing Lisa's heart through a touching love letter. The couple now present the beloved ITV programme John and Lisa's Weekend Kitchen together, broadcasting on Saturday mornings.
This week's reports indicate the show will remain on the channel, even though John has been dismissed from MasterChef. This followed an inquiry into 83 complaints regarding his co-presenter Gregg Wallace, which substantiated a claim that John employed racist language eight years previously.
BBC director-general Tim Davie described the term as "so serious" that he declined to repeat it before journalists this week. Nevertheless, John refutes the accusation, stating he has "no recollection of the alleged incident and does not believe that it happened".
During last year's Good Food Show, John and Lisa provided insight into their relationship. This occurred as their programme secured its 10th renewal, reports Wales Online.
When questioned about working together on camera, John responded: "I love it, it's great. We don't rehearse, we don't do any of that sort of stuff, we just quite like each other and it's just really nice to do it.
"I haven't been around. I've been doing MasterChef, Lisa's been doing this, so we don't see each other a huge amount, we're quite busy."
Former EastEnders actress Lisa has shared that while she and her partner work on their joint show, they also focus on individual projects. Lisa's television appearances span across various programmes including Celebrity Gogglebox, The Madame Blanc Mysteries, and Harlan Coben's Missing You.
She elaborated: "We live together so we do end up sleeping next to each other but a lot of the time we are doing our own thing and working. A lot of the time he's away, I'm away, and so actually people say, 'Don't you get bored of being with each other?'".
"But when we film the show, we film it all in quite a condensed 10 day shoot, so we actually get to spend those 10 days together, which is really nice, we love it."
In recent developments, BBC executives have decided not to renew John's MasterChef contract, thus concluding his two-decade-long involvement with the show. Both the BBC and Banijay, the production company, issued statements confirming his departure from the programme.
Banijay expressed taking "this matter incredibly seriously" as they referred to the "highly offensive racist language". John, however, disclosed that he discovered his dismissal upon reading BBC News.
Taking to Instagram, he stated: "Although I haven't heard from anyone at the BBC or Banijay - I am seeing and reading that I've been "sacked" from MasterChef and I repeat that I have no recollection of what I'm accused of.
"The enquiry could not even state the date or year of when I am meant to have said something wrong. I'd hoped that I'd have some say in my exit from a show I've worked on since its relaunch in 2005, but events in last few days seem to have prevented that."
Regarding their decision to part ways with Torode, the BBC commented on Tuesday: "John Torode has identified himself as having an upheld allegation of using racist language against him. This allegation, which involves an extremely offensive racist term being used in the workplace, was investigated and substantiated by the independent investigation led by the law firm, Lewis Silkin. John Torode denies the allegation.
"He has stated he has no recollection of the alleged incident and does not believe that it happened. He also says that any racial language is wholly unacceptable in any environment.
"The BBC takes this upheld finding extremely seriously. 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."
