Celebrity MasterChef contestant Aasmah Mir has criticised John Torode for showing "no emotion" when Gregg Wallace made inappropriate sexual comments to her during filming in 2017.
The former BBC Radio 4 journalist, who appeared on the cooking show in 2017, said she was shocked by Torode's lack of reaction to Wallace's offensive remarks.
Her comments come days after both presenters were sacked from MasterChef following separate allegations of misconduct.
The radio presenter said Torode failed to intervene when Wallace used "incredibly inappropriate" language about a BBC colleague. "Gregg Wallace used an incredibly inappropriate term and John Torode didn't do anything. He used no emotion," Mir told presenters Kate Garraway and Richard Madeley.
Mir revealed that Wallace had asked her to tell a colleague at the BBC "that she was a sexy b***h" after she presented her first dish to the judges.
The incident occurred when filming paused to reset cameras, with Wallace making the comment "in front of everyone, the judges, the crew, the other contestants," according to Mir.
PA
|Aasmah Mir has spoken out following Torode and Wallace's sackings
"No one said anything. Both Gregg Wallace and John Torode looked completely blank, poker face. Like nothing had happened," she told GMB viewers.
When asked by Madeley whether Torode had heard the comment, Mir confirmed: "Yes. There is a screengrab of me putting my dish down and John Torode and Gregg Wallace are both there. So he definitely heard it."
Mir suggested that Torode's lack of response might have been due to years of exposure to Wallace's behaviour on the programme, which began in 2005.
"That could be because it was 2017, it had been going on since 2005 - the programme. Maybe he'd just become used to it?" she said during the interview.
LATEST MASTERCHEF DEVELOPMENTS:
ITV
|Aasmah Mir appeared on Thursday's Good Morning Britain
She noted that complaints about Wallace dated back to the show's early days, referencing a 2005 complaint by Kirsty Wark.
"You would expect some emotion on his face, perhaps, but maybe he was just used to it and that's not his fault necessarily. It's Gregg Wallace's for putting him in that position," Mir added.
Despite her criticism of Torode's inaction, she emphasised that the responsibility lay with Wallace for creating such situations.
Wallace was sacked from MasterChef last week after a seven-month investigation by law firm Lewis Silkin found that 45 out of 83 allegations of inappropriate behaviour against him were upheld.
The allegations included claims of inappropriate sexual language and one incident of unwelcome physical contact, according to production company Banijay's report.
Torode was dismissed on Tuesday after the same investigation upheld an allegation that he used "an extremely offensive racist term" during drinks after filming in 2018 or 2019.
ITV
|Aasmah Mir criticised John Torode's reaction to Gregg Wallace's remarks
The BBC said it takes the finding "extremely seriously", stating: "We will not tolerate racist language of any kind and, as we have already said, we told Banijay UK, the makers of MasterChef, that action must be taken. John Torode's contract on MasterChef will not be renewed."
Mir expressed sympathy for Wallace during her GMB appearance, citing his neurodivergence as a factor in the situation.
BBC | John Torode and Gregg Wallace presented MasterChef together on the BBC"I feel sorry for him, I do feel sorry for Gregg Wallace because of the neurodivergence, which is quite obvious here," she said.
However, she placed blame on the production company for failing to address the behaviour earlier.
"But someone - the production company - should have stepped in earlier and said, 'this is not acceptable.' We wouldn't have the mess we have today," Mir stated.
She also revealed that Wallace had allegedly told another contestant that her handling of fish "looked like a rapist doing foreplay," prompting that contestant to walk away from filming.
Torode is believed to be exploring the possibility of taking legal action against the BBC for unfair dismissal, with sources telling The Mirror he is "determined to clear his name."