Saturday Kitchen host Matt Tebbutt is reportedly in talks with the BBC to replace Gregg Wallace as a host of MasterChef.
Food critic Grace Dent stepped in for Wallace for Celebrity MasterChef and filmed episodes alongside judge John Torode, 59, in January following Wallace’s exit from the BBC cooking competition amid sexual misconduct allegations.
However, sources are claiming Dent’s role could be in jeopardy as TV executives are reportedly lining up Tebbutt, 51, as a judge on MasterChef and the spin-off, MasterChef: The Professionals.
“Matt rose to the challenge of coming into Saturday Kitchen after it was previously hosted by another big name in the world of food, James Martin,” an insider told The Sun.
“He managed the feat of making it his own and almost making viewers forget who his predecessor was — now Beeb bosses, and the show producers Banijay, will be hoping he can work the same magic on MasterChef.”
The insider added: “Nothing is set in stone, of course, and the result of investigations into Gregg’s behaviour have yet to fully conclude. But since MasterChef is such a huge show with a massive following, the Beeb are keen to have everything lined up ready.”
The BBC declined to comment when approached by The Standard. Tebbutt’s representative has been contacted for comment.
Tebbutt began presenting BBC's Saturday Kitchen in 2016 and has also appeared as a judge on Great British Menu and Channel 4's Drop Down Menu.
Last year, Wallace was accused of inappropriate behaviour by 13 people across a range of shows over a 17-year period, which he denies.
When the reports emerged in November, a series of amateur MasterChef was almost complete and chef Anna Haugh stepped in for the last few days of filming alongside Torode.
That show has since been edited and usually airs between February and April on BBC One, although a release date has yet to be announced.
Wallace, 60, resigned from MasterChef in November. MasterChef producers later said they had appointed a "rigorous" law firm - Lewis Silkin - to lead the investigation into his alleged misconduct.
The former greengrocer initially claimed the allegations came from “middle-class women of a certain age” - but later apologised and said he “wasn’t in a good headspace” when he made the comments.
He faces a wide range of misconduct allegations including “talking openly about his sex life” and telling a junior female colleague he was “not wearing any boxer shorts”.
His lawyers have said it is entirely false to suggest he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.
Former MasterChef contestant Emma Phillips-Jennings accused Wallace of repeatedly thrusting his groin in her face as she crouched at an oven while filming the show in 2009.
Wallace has also been accused of pressing his crotch against a woman working on the BBC show, Eat Well For Less, during filming in a supermarket in 2015 and allegedly touching the bottom of another woman during a group hug in a lift in 2022.
