John Torode's wife Lisa Faulkner breaks silence after MasterChef axe

John Torode's wife Lisa Faulkner has spoken out for the firs time since her husband's sacking from MasterChef. Earlier this monght it was announced that the Australian chef's contract on the BBC culinary show would not be renewed following a historic allegation of racism on the show.

On Monday (July 28) his supportive wife took to her Instagram Stories to share her thoughts on his removal. The actress told fans: "Hi there, I just wanted to check in and say hello. I'm here and just thank you for all your lovely comments because they really, really mean a lot. So thank you."

Faulkner, 53, tied the knot with the beloved cook, 60, back in 2019. This is the second marriage for both stars, with the ex-Holby City star previously married to Chris Coghill - who was known for his role as Tony King in EastEnders. The actors also share an adopted daughter together named Billie.

Torode's former spouse is a woman named Jessica, and together the pair share two children. The former MasterChef star is also the father of two older children from a previous relationship. Faulkner and Torode fist locked eyes when Lisa competed on Celebrity MasterChef back in 2010.

The couple immediately sparked a friendship which remained after wrapping up filming later, but Lida insisted that there was no initial romantic spark. She recalled "He was a judge on a show I loved and I was petrified of him. He was brilliant and gave us all tips so you didn't want to let him down.

"All I could think was, 'That sauce hasn't worked'. I didn't see anything but food for three months. After I won, we did The Good Food Show and stuff. John and I always got on, but I never thought about me and him."

But their friendship soon blossomed into romance, with the pair later making a name for themselves as a power couple in culinary TV. The actress's update comed after the BBC and the production company Banijay UK confirmed that Torode's contract on MasterChef will not be renewed.

The TV chef confirmed that he was the subject of an allegation of using racist language that was upheld as part of a review carried out by the law firl Lewis Silkin into the alleged behaviour of his co-host Gregg Wallace.

A statement from Banijay UK 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 occured 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."

The Lewis Silkin report, which was commissioned by Banijay UK, substantiated 45 of the 83 allegations against Wallace, alongside two standalone allegations made against other people, including one for using racist language. Torode confirmed that he was the person who was alleged to have used the racist language but insisted he had "no recollection of the incident" and was "shocked and saddened" by the allegaiton.

A BBC spokesperson said: "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 independented 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 langauge 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."

Despite his departure from the cooking show, he remains on the airwaves with Lisa on their own TV show. A source close to ITV confirmed to the Mirror their schedules for John and Lisa's Weekend Kitchen "remain unchanged" despite John's axe from MasterChef.