BBC MasterChef's John Torode breaks silence on future after Gregg Wallace accusations

MasterChef presenter John Torode has said he will continue to be part of the programme following allegations against co-host Gregg Wallace.

He issued a statement on Instagram on Wednesday (December 4), days after it was confirmed that his co-star was stepping back from the programme amid an internal investigation.

The Australian-born star, who has presented the BBC One cooking show alongside Wallace since 2005, said in a statement on Instagram he found the recent reports “truly upsetting” and the “thought of anyone who has appeared on our show not having a brilliant experience is awful to hear”.

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He said: "Since last Friday I have been away filming MasterChef overseas. I love my job, and I love MasterChef. I love being part of it and will continue to be part of it.

"During the last few days, I’ve been trying to make the best cookery programme, so being busy making the show and caring for our contestants has allowed me little time to think about anything else, but that has been hard.”

He added: “But as I hope everyone appreciates there is an investigation underway, which I fully support, so I cannot make any further comment at this stage and I hope that you all understand and respect my silence on the matter moving forward.”

On Tuesday the BBC announced that two MasterChef celebrity Christmas specials, a Celebrity MasterChef Christmas Cook Off and a Strictly Festive Extravaganza, have been pulled from its festive schedule.

The BBC said: "As we have said, MasterChef is an amazing competition which is life-changing for the chefs taking part and the current series of MasterChef: The Professionals is