John Torode has dished the dirt on his and Gregg Wallace’s unique bromance from their time together on BBC’s MasterChef. Despite the recent buzz around Gregg stepping down after a BBC probe into complaints about his behaviour, John’s kept quiet about the drama.
But he’s spoken before on their odd bond. Chatting to the Mirror back in 2017, John dropped the bombshell that he and Gregg were “never friends”.
Fast forward to 2023, on the Desert Island Dishes podcast, and it sounds like he’s had a change of heart, saying: “He’s a friend, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t go to the pub with him, We’ve both not been to each other’s houses… we just don’t do it.”
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(Image: Getty Images Europe)
He even had a laugh about Gregg’s next-level OCD, quipping: “He says he’s CDO because he wants it in the right order – that’s one of his favourite jokes,” as per Birmingham Live.
Despite the oddities, John made it clear they have respect for each other, which has been one of the secrets to their telly success for over twenty years, reports OK!.
(Image: @greggawallace/Instagram)
John Torode initially had reservations about teaming up with Gregg Wallace on MasterChef. Speaking to The Independent, he said: “In 2005 I was asked to go to an interview about some cooking show and Karen Ross, the boss at Shine, the production company involved, said: ‘I’d love you to do it, but I need to audition people to partner you with.'” He remembered having a range of potential co-hosts, including AA Gill and Oliver Peyton.
(Image: SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“One day she asked, ‘Do you know a guy called Gregg Wallace? ‘ I had my doubts, as Gregg was big, brash and loud. Actually, nothing has changed, except no one expected the success the show has had.”
He admitted that their relationship has been “strained” at times throughout MasterChef’s long run: “We used to argue about stuff, as we’re both so opinionated. In the first series it was over Thomasina Miers who went on to win that series.
(Image: BBC)
“Gregg said, ‘There’s no way I want her.’ Then in the second round he said, ‘I want her.’ And I said, ‘You git, how can you hate someone vehemently one day then like them? ‘” John also revealed that Gregg has some peculiar dressing room habits, instructing him: “Don’t put anything on my table, don’t touch my stuff and stay on the left-hand side of the room until lunch.”
He expressed his willingness to develop a closer friendship with Gregg, but doesn’t believe Gregg feels the same: “It’s frustrating, as I’m open to it, but I don’t feel Gregg is.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
