John Torode and wife Lisa Faulkner’s ITV cookery series Weekend Kitchen is reportedly set to be axed — despite the broadcaster previously vowing to stand by the sacked MasterChef star.
The 60-year-old chef was dismissed by the BBC earlier this year after an allegation emerged that he had used “extremely offensive racist language” in 2018 — something he insists he has “no recollection” of.
His departure came just weeks after his co-host Gregg Wallace, 61, was also dropped from the show following a series of upheld complaints about sexualised on-set behaviour.
Although ITV initially threw its support behind John — who has been married to actress Lisa, 53, since 2019 — insiders now claim the future of their joint project, which launched the same year as their wedding, looks bleak.
The tenth series of Weekend Kitchen will conclude with a festive special airing on ITV this Saturday.
A source said:
“John is facing a nervous wait about Weekend Kitchen*, but it’s not looking good. The commissioning team still haven’t made a final decision. Budgets are being slashed and the show is expensive to produce.”*
Speaking to The Sun, the insider added:
“It will be a major blow to John. He had a really tough time after being sacked from the BBC. He’s pushing forward with Lisa and working hard on a new YouTube cooking show, which has been well received. Naturally, he’s hoping ITV will give the programme a redeeming nod — but he’s prepared for the worst.”
Daily Mail has contacted representatives for John and Lisa for comment. ITV declined to respond.
Following John’s BBC dismissal, The Sun reported that ITV executives held crisis talks over whether to air the remainder of Weekend Kitchen — which they ultimately did.
ITV’s director of media and entertainment, Kevin Lygo, later confirmed the report, saying:
“It felt it was a bit much for us to jump on the bandwagon and just deny these shows going out.”
Earlier this month, John revealed he had been attending therapy to cope with the fallout, explaining that it had taught him to “sit in his grief” and be “real” instead of “brave”.
Writing on Substack, he said:
“Life has changed forever for me and for those close to me. There is no sympathy searching here — just honesty.”
He also revealed he had travelled to Qatar for work and attended the Grand Prix there, describing it as his first time “facing my grief alone” without Lisa.
The racism allegation against John emerged during an independent investigation into Gregg Wallace’s conduct.
Gregg was sacked after dozens of complaints were upheld, with Grace Dent joining the presenting team later last year.
John later identified himself as the unnamed individual in the report accused of using racist language, stating he had “absolutely no recollection” of the incident and did “not believe it happened”.
However, in a statement released in July, the BBC said:
“This allegation — which involves an extremely offensive racist term being used in the workplace — was investigated and substantiated by the independent inquiry led by Lewis Silkin.”
The broadcaster added:
“The BBC takes this upheld finding extremely seriously. We will not tolerate racist language of any kind and we informed Banijay UK, the makers of MasterChef*, that action must be taken. John Torode’s contract on* MasterChef* will not be renewed.”*
