Gregg Wallace's MasterChef replacement set to be huge TV star from rival show

MasterChef is reportedly looking to sign up Saturday Kitchen host Matt Tebbutt as Gregg Wallace's replacement.

The TV chef is said to be in advanced talks with the show's producers and could also be in talks to host the MasterChef: The Professionals spin-off. It comes after Gregg was taken off as host of the show while telly bosses continue to probe allegations of his misconduct.

Thirteen women accused him of sexually inappropriate behaviour over the space of 17 years. Wallace has largely stayed quiet on social media after issuing an apology for branding his accusers "middle-class women of a certain age" in a video rant. He later apologised for his remark, saying: "I want to apologise for any offence caused... and any upset I may have caused." He added: "It's obvious to me I need to take some time out now, while this investigation is under way."

And now, an insider has claimed Matt has been in talks become the host of the cooking contest. "He managed the feat of making it his own and almost making viewers forget who his predecessor was — now Beeb bosses, and the show producers Banijay, will be hoping he can work the same magic on MasterChef," the insider said.

They added to The Sun: “Nothing is set in stone, of course, and the result of investigations into Gregg’s behaviour have yet to fully conclude." The Mirror have reached out to the BBC for comment. After Gregg stepped down from his role as host on MasterChef, food critic Grace Dent stood in as John Torode's co-host.

When Grace was first announced as the new host, she admitted she was 'drunk on power'. Speaking on ITV’s This Morning about her role, she said: “I am absolutely over the moon. Honestly, I’m already drunk on power.” The critic said she may have had some worries about it for “10 seconds” but they disappeared after she took over the reins.

“It’s one of the most wonderful shows on British TV and, when you go out into the public, you feel that warmth,” she said. “You can’t eat anywhere in privacy ever again. You can’t even go into a supermarket without people looking in your trolley (saying) ‘I can’t believe she’s bought that’.

“Now I am that person. Now I am the baddie, and I don’t enjoy doing that,” she said. “I think that people think that I go out for dinner and want it to be bad so that I can write horrible things. I absolutely don’t. I want the best for these people, and sending people home is horrible.”