Irish chef Anna Haugh Will Co-host a New Series of Masterchef with Grace Dent

Emeril Lagasse
Sep 9
2 min read

This announcement follows the dismissal of long-time presenters John Torrode and Greg Wallace after a BBC investigation into Wallace's purported misbehavior.

Haugh had his initial television appearance in BBC's The Stress Test (2004) while employed at the Pied à Terre restaurant alongside Shane Osborn. In 2013, she served as a guest judge on Gordon Ramsay's U.S. program Hell's Kitchen and participated as a cook on BBC's Ready Steady Cook in 2020, hosted by Rylan Clark-Neal.

She previously served as a guest judge on the celebrity edition of MasterChef during the 11th episode (Series 17), which aired in September 2022.

This announcement follows the dismissal of long-time presenters John Torrode and Greg Wallace after a BBC investigation into Wallace's purported misbehavior.

In November 2024, the BBC announced that Wallace would depart from the show while charges against him were being investigated. A third-party inquiry validated 45 out of 83 complaints filed. The majority of grievances pertained to unsuitable sexual language and humor, accompanied by a singular occurrence of unsolicited physical contact. Wallace subsequently expressed remorse, stating he was "profoundly sorry for any distress caused" and that he "never intended to harm or humiliate".

John Torrode was discovered to have employed racist language, prompting the BBC and production company Banijay UK to decline the renewal of his contract.

The concluding series featuring the duo is presently broadcasting on BBC One, with Anna Haugh scheduled to feature in the final week.

Grace Dent was appointed to succeed Greg Wallace after his exit from the program in 2024. She is set to feature in the latest filmed series of the celebrity edition of the show alongside John Torrode; however, the BBC has not disclosed broadcast details for this series. This month, the BBC revealed that TV broadcaster and chef Matt Tebbutt will succeed Wallace in the upcoming series of MasterChef: The Professionals.