ITV will 'stand by' John Torode after he was axed from MasterChef over racism claim

The TV chef, 59, broke his silence on Tuesday night after the show's producers Banijay UK confirmed his contract will not be renewed.

In an explosive post on Instagram, Torode reiterated he had "no recollection" of making a racist comment.

ITV reportedly held crisis talks yesterday to decide whether to air this Saturday’s episode of John And Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen.

An inside source at the broadcaster revealed they were backing him, The Sun reports.

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A source said: “There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to John but ITV are standing by him.

“There were crisis talks yesterday about what to do. There were some concerns raised about the optics around John and what has happened at the BBC.

“But after much discussion they chose to stand by John.

“As it stands, this weekend’s episode will go ahead.”

A second source added: “ITV have never had any issues with John and they’ve never had any complaints or concerns about his conduct.

“They will back him to the hilt.”

Torode said he was "seeing and reading" he had been dropped from Masterchef, but had not received any official word from the BBC or Banijay.

His statement read: "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 the last few days seem to have prevented that."

On Monday, Torode took to Instagram to tell fans that he had allegedly made the remarks in 2018 or 2019, and that he had apologised immediately afterwards.

The allegation was upheld in a report, led by law firm Lewis Silkin, which also substantiated 45 out of the 83 allegations made against his co-host Gregg Wallace.

Speaking in an Instagram post on Monday, Torode said he had "no recollection" of the alleged incident, adding: "I do not believe that it happened."

A Banijay spokesperson said: “In response to John Torode’s statement, it is important to stress that Banijay UK takes this matter incredibly seriously.

“The legal team at Lewis Silkin that investigated the allegations relating to Gregg Wallace also substantiated an accusation of highly offensive racist language against John Torode which occurred in 2018.

“This matter has been formally discussed with John Torode by Banijay UK, and whilst we note that John says he does not recall the incident, Lewis Silkin have upheld the very serious complaint. Banijay UK and the BBC are agreed that we will not renew his contract on MasterChef.”

A BBC spokesperson added that the allegation against Torode “involves an extremely offensive racist term being used in the workplace” which was “investigated and substantiated” by the independent investigation led by Lewis Silkin.

They said: “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.”