HE ruled half of the MasterChef kitchen for 20 years until he was brutally sacked from the hit BBC show in July 2025, leaving his career on the chopping block.
Professional chef John Torode has since blasted the show as a “cult” and turned to therapy to cope with the “grief” from his MasterChef departure, which came just days after controversial co-host Gregg Wallace was axed. But insiders have now told us how two savvy women have played huge parts in rescuing John from his kitchen nightmare – plus what it all means for his marriage.
We can reveal that his loyal wife Lisa Faulkner and new MasterChef host Grace Dent have been the rocks floundering John so desperately needs.
A close friend of Lisa’s revealed to us that the past few months have been a “turning point” for the couple, and actress Lisa – who John met when she was a contestant on Celebrity MasterChef 2010 – has been the “calm in the storm”.
They said: “When everything around John started to crumble, she was the one reminding him who he is without the TV cameras.
“The dynamic in their relationship has shifted a little as Lisa steps out of his shadow.
“For years John was the household name but now it feels like Lisa’s moment.
“She’s been his rock and is balancing loyalty with quiet ambition. She hasn’t abandoned him for a second but she’s also not shrinking herself to make him feel better. She’s putting herself forwards not stepping away.”
Despite his MasterChef axe, John has fingers in plenty of other pies, including some paid work in the Middle East and paid ads on Instagram.
What’s more, savvy John and Lisa launched a YouTube channel four weeks ago, on which they have several videos of themselves cooking together.
An insider told us: “Their income from this alone is expected to be huge, so they are not worried about putting food on the table in their own home.
“Together they are still strong and also bring home the bacon with lucrative campaigns with Princess Cruises.”
The launch of their new YouTube channel comes amid speculation the couple’s ITV cooking show, John and Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen, is expected to be axed this year, despite the pair serving up “a feast of festive inspiration” in John and Lisa’s Christmas Kitchen just days ago.
It is potentially another huge blow for John’s TV career, but he’s said to still be “highly respected” and well supported in the food world.
People are said to feel “very sorry” for him in such circles, which are a different world to the entertainment industry.
‘RELATIONSHIP SHIFT’
While Torode’s TV appearances may reduce this year, he may have more time to support Lisa’s career.
A source told us: “Despite everything, the MasterChef backlash has brought John and Lisa closer rather than pulling them apart. They’re more united now than ever. They’re enjoying stripped-back dinners at home, long walks and proper conversations. With John’s fame falling away on MasterChef it has forced them to reconnect as people.
“As for Lisa’s future, she is confident. She’s supported John when he needed it most, and now it’s her time to shine. He knows that too.
“Even though she’s started to focus more on her own career and is beginning to take centre stage.”
The former EastEnders actress is currently focusing on her brand-new stage show, Single White Female, alongside Coronation Street star Kym Marsh.
On January 7th, John took to Instagram to reveal he will be a huge supporter of Lisa’s new show.
He wrote: “And so “Single White Female “ begins on stage . Brighton from next week and then a city near you. I shall be posting about it loads @lisafaulknercooks @marsh_kym #singlewhitefemale”
While Lisa has been busily backing John amid his MasterChef fallout, she isn’t the only supportive female figure in his life.
John’s final foray in the MasterChef kitchen was in last year’s Celebrity MasterChef, on which he judged alongside food critic Grace, who replaced Gregg on the show.
Drag queen Ginger Johnson triumphed, and there was another on-screen success story in the shape of John and Grace’s chemistry when judging together.
However, their partnership was short-lived when the BBC axed Torode over alleged inappropriate language he used making MasterChef.
John has denied using a racist slur, but admitted it was “time to pass the cutlery to someone else” on the programme.
Despite being defiant initially, he later confessed he has undergone therapy to deal with the “unexpected and brutal life change”.
SAVING GRACE
But one of John’s saving Graces has been Dent herself, whose support for him has been “unfailing”.
In a recent post on his Substack channel, he wrote: “Grace Dent: What a strong extraordinary woman.
“Grace stands up for all that she believes in and supports. Graceful and never scared of doing the right thing or worried that the cult might too ostracise her.
“It was a privilege to stand by her side. Her support unfailing.”
But John clearly didn’t have a similar off-screen relationship with Gregg during their 20-year stint on MasterChef.
Torode remained silent when misconduct accusations were first raised against Gregg.
A furious Wallace unfollowed both John and wife Lisa on social media amid their deafening silence, but it may not have come as a huge surprise to MasterChef super-fans.
In 2013, John admitted to The Independent he had doubts whether Gregg would work on MasterChef because he was “big, brash and loud”, and he also admitted the pair used to “fight about stuff”.
And in 2022, John moaned to The Times about Gregg calling him at 6am.
Despite this, Torode was best man at Gregg’s fourth wedding, to Anne-Marie Sterpini, in 2016.
But a year later, the chef – who previously admitted he didn’t “socialise” with Gregg outside of the cooking show – revealed: “It’s funny, we’ve never been friends.”
However, Gregg did shoot to John’s defence when he was accused of using a racist slur.
He told The Sun: “I’ll tell you one thing right now: John Torode is not a racist. I’ve known John for 30 years and he is not a racist.
“And as evidence of that, I’ll show you the incredible diversity of the people that he has championed, MasterChef winners, over the years.
“There is no way that man is a racist. No way. And my sympathies go out to John because I don’t want anybody to go through what I’ve been through.”
Despite this, John is said to have cut ties with Gregg.
An insider said: “Everything changed overnight when John was dragged into what was initially thought of as Gregg’s mess.
“It was the catalyst that John needed to cut ties from Gregg completely, their dislike for each other ran much deeper than most people thought and had been going on long before their sackings.
“The only way to move on from what happened is to distance himself from Gregg for good.”
“The tension had been bubbling under the surface for years and people working on the show felt it was only a matter of time before it imploded.
“John has been incredibly reflective the last few months and he sees 2026 as a new start. No more anger, no more resentment, he’s just thinking about his future and what that could look like.
“John really thinks the only way to move on from what happened is to completely distance himself from Gregg for good.”
While MasterChef is now a memory for John, 2010 was arguably his most important year as a judge – because he found a wife on the show.
COOKING UP ROMANCE
John met Lisa when she was a contestant on Celebrity MasterChef’s fifth series in 2010. At the time Lisa was married to actor Chris Coghill, and John was with his second wife, Jessica Thomas. A year later they both became single and started dating.
Lisa secure a double triumph – winning the show, and marrying John in 2019. At the time
It’s also turned out to be a sweet victory for John.
The insider said: “Lisa is very smart, highly respected, extremely talented in many different areas of the media world and she will be his saviour.
“She is determined to keep things together for John and their family and ensure their relationship is not defined by the scandal.
“She wants Billie, her daughter, to see that with resilience, reinvention, and a shared understanding that careers may rise and fall, family and partnership is what lasts.
“Behind closed doors John feels embarrassed and deeply sad by what’s happened, but it’s not the end of him.”
Just before Christmas, John was in a reflective mood as he wrote on his Instagram Stories: “2025 taught me a lot without saying much. It showed me who was really there, what actually mattered, and how to move differently when life doesn’t go as planned.
“I’m leaving this year wiser, more settled, and clearer about what I won’t carry into the next year.”
