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Moving on after a difficult month, TV presenter Lisa Faulkner headed back to work last week – with a source claiming she is still distraught over husband John Torode’s shock sacking.
Ex-MasterChef host John, 60, was fired in July after nearly 20 years on the hit BBC show, following an allegation of racism. Earlier in the month his former co-star Gregg Wallace, 60, had also been dismissed when dozens of people came forward alleging inappropriate behaviour and sexual language, which he has always denied.
Lisa, 53, who co-hosts ITV show John & Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen with her husband as well as regularly appearing on Lorraine, is said to be struggling with his controversial dismissal. A source tells new, “The whole sorry affair has been heartbreaking for her.”
John and Lisa met on Celebrity MasterChef more than a decade ago -Credit:Getty Images for the NTA’s
Lisa is said to believe John has been treated unfairly, with the source adding, “It’s been so hard to see her husband go through such a hard time, she loves him and is heartbroken for him. She’s very sad about it all.”
They go on to claim, “John’s been totally blindsided by all this. It’s taken a lot of courage for Lisa to get back to work but she knows she needs to put on a brave face amid the whole controversy and keep moving forward.”
Announcing her return to work on Instagram last Monday, Lisa shared a photo of herself in the back of a car with the caption, “Good morning… some filming today!” A few days earlier, she posted a video saying, “Hi there, I just wanted to check in and say hello, and I’m here. Just thank you for all your really lovely comments because they really mean a lot, so thank you.”
The actress has gone back to work -Credit:GC Images
As the furore continued, she shared another post of herself hugging their dog Rory, saying, “Our little shadow over the past few weeks. I can’t tell you how much Rory has kept me smiling. Every day she wakes up wagging her tail, smiling and greeting a new day with her positivity! My motto really is Be More Rory.”
After keeping a low profile in recent days, John also shared a photo of Rory running around a park on Instagram last week, alongside the caption, “New day, new week, new month,” and a praying hands emoji. He and Lisa were also said to have hosted a quiet dinner party for close friends to celebrate his 60th birthday on 23 July.
While Lisa is standing firmly by John’s side, she is clearly determined not to let her own career be knocked off-course. But with the final series of MasterChef featuring John and Gregg now airing on TV, there is little hope of the saga dying down just yet – especially after one contestant asked to be edited out of the series. Appearing on Good Morning Britain, Sarah Shafi said she felt “uncomfortable” around the presenters, and witnessed a culture of “toxic masculinity” she did not want to be part of.
Though many viewers felt the 24 episodes should have been permanently scrapped, the BBC opted for a last-minute re-edit to reduce the amount of time the two presenters are on screen, stressing it had made the decision to go ahead after “careful consideration and consultation” with contestants.
The future of the couple’s work together is uncertain -Credit:Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
When the claims of racism first emerged, John said he had “no recollection of what I’m accused of,” and added, “Personally, I have loved every minute working on MasterChef, but it’s time to pass the cutlery to someone else.”
The following day, his contract with the BBC and production company Banijay was formally terminated, with a statement announcing that an allegation over his use of “an extremely offensive racist term” had been upheld. It was later alleged that he used a racial slur when repeating lyrics from rapper Kanye West’s hit Gold Digger at an after-work event.
Known as one of TV’s golden couples, Lisa and John first met when Lisa was a contestant on Celebrity MasterChef 15 years ago. They married in 2019 and live in north London with Lisa’s 18-year-old daughter Billie. Australian-born John also has four grown-up children from two previous relationships.
Speaking of the warm reaction she and John always receive from the public, Lisa once said, “Maybe it’s because we genuinely have a lovely relationship? We have a bit of banter but it’s never sniping at each other. We’re just kind to each other, we get on and we look out for each other.”
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