Andi Oliver throws her support behind Gregg Wallace and believes the controversy surrounding his behaviour has been blown out of proportion

Andi Oliver has been tipped to replace Gregg Wallace on MasterChef and believes the controversy surrounding his behavior has been blown out of proportion. “You shouldn’t be too melodramatic about it,” she tells me.

“Gregg Wallace is not the only person who has been given permission to behave inappropriately.

“And if everyone pretends to be some kind of lone wolf, that’s actually unfair and a bit ridiculous.”

Oliver, 61, added: ‘Rather than bitching about him, we need to make sure environments are good, productive and safe spaces for people to work in.’

They will start filming the new series of MasterChef next year – and sources at the show are already ruling out the possibility of Gregg returning, regardless of what the investigation into his behavior reveals.

The question is: who will follow in his shoes? At this early stage, show bosses are keen for chef Oliver or food critic Grace Dent to take Wallace’s place.

‘Gregg Wallace isn’t the only person given a license to behave inappropriately’

Oliver has worked on Great British Menu and presented her own show, Andi’s Fabulous Feasts. Dent has appeared as a judge on MasterChef many times.

The Ny Breaking’s Alison Boshoff was told the ‘dream’ would be to pair one of them with celebrity chef Angela Hartnett, a former guest judge.

She has a hugely successful podcast, Dish, with Nick Grimshaw, and extensive broadcasting experience. But they fear they may not be able to convince her to jump on board.

Wallace’s co-host John Torode is described by someone on the show as “the legacy host,” and it seems like the idea that he was around – and thus possibly witnessed Wallace’s behavior – could count against him, at least for some. .

He has presented the cooking show together with Wallace since 2005. Torode himself would like to persevere, as he made clear in a statement on Wednesday this week.

Alison was told: ‘The idea of ​​a complete restart is attractive.’ Another source demurs: “It’s too early to say anything definitive other than Gregg not coming back.”

They continued, “Angela Hartnett is the ideal person they would like to have on the show, but it’s not clear if she agrees or if she wants to spend the time on it.

‘They want one presenter who is a real, authentic professional chef. The other person, the ‘Gregg’ if you will, could be Andi Oliver or Grace Dent. They really love Grace Dent.

They’ll start filming the new series of MasterChef next year – and sources at the show are already ruling out the possibility of Gregg returning, regardless of what the investigation into his behavior reveals (John Torode and Gregg Wallace pictured)

“I think some people like Tom Allen and (chef) Matt Tebbutt too. It won’t be Jay Rayner. He is ‘too strong flesh’ for men.’

The source added that Wallace believes Torode would be happy if his wife, actress Lisa Faulkner and former Celebrity MasterChef winner, co-hosted the show with him.

It is believed that this was the reason he unfollowed the two on social media. However, I have been told that a ‘nepotistic’ appointment of Torode’s wife bosses does not seem like the best solution to the current crisis.

Wallace announced this week that he is “stepping away” from the show amid numerous allegations of inappropriate behavior.