The world-renowned chef has been installed as the early 5/1 frontrunner, leading a list of potential stars who could take over the role of the BBC cooking competition.
Wallace had stepped back from his Masterchef role after the BBC launched an investigation into the complaints they had received about alleged inappropriate comments. BBC News said that it had sent a letter to Wallace’s representatives detailing complaints made by 13 separate people who had worked with the TV star over a 17-year period, including Newsnight host Kirsty Wark.
Ramsay, who is no stranger to the world of television and cooking competitions, is closely followed by fellow TV personality Gino D’Acampo, who has odds of 6/1, and sports presenter Gary Lineker, who stands at 8/1. The list of potential replacements is packed with big names, with Tim Lovejoy, Fred Sirieix, and Nadiya Hussain all being given odds of 10/1. Longtime favourite Nigella Lawson, however, has longer odds of 33/1.
Astley added: “Ramsay is the 5/1 frontrunner to take over judging duties on the programme, putting him narrowly ahead of Gino D’Acampo and Gary Lineker in the betting.”
Here are the latest odds for who might replace Gregg Wallace on MasterChef:
- Gordon Ramsay – 5/1
- Gino D’Acampo – 6/1
- Gary Lineker – 8/1
- Tim Lovejoy – 8/1
- Fred Sirieix – 10/1
- Nadiya Hussain – 10/1
- Matt Lucas – 12/1
- BAR (Others) – 14/1
Banijay UK, the production company which produces Masterchef, confirmed that Wallace was stepping back from the show amid the investigation. The production company said in a statement: “This week the BBC received complaints from individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with presenter Gregg Wallace on one of our shows. Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate.
“While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process. Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set.
The BBC added: “We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them. We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated. Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them.”
