John Torode has described recent allegations of historical misconduct involving his MasterChef co-host Gregg Wallace as "truly upsetting" in his first statement since Wallace made headlines. Shared this afternoon on Instagram,

The British government’s culture secretary has held talks with the BBC as the broadcaster comes under growing scrutiny after one of its TV hosts drew an angry backlash for dismissing sexual misconduct

It was announced that Wallace had stepped away from the BBC cooking show due to an investigation into historical misconduct allegations. Since then, further complaints about alleged inappropriate sexual behaviour have been made, while fellow TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp also accused him of making unwanted sexual comments to her.