Giorgio Locatelli Replaces John Torode on Celebrity MasterChef

giorgio locatelli has been announced as the new judge on Celebrity MasterChef after John Torode was sacked by the last year. The next UK celebrity series has already been filmed, so the casting change lands on a finished season rather than a production decision still in motion.

Locatelli and Grace Dent

Locatelli will appear alongside Grace Dent on the next UK celebrity series, and he called the move "a real honour". He also said, "I can't wait for you to see what our celebrity contestants bring to the kitchen, as we are really putting their culinary skills to the test in this series."

Dent called him a "fabulous addition" to the MasterChef team and said she was "a long-time admirer" of his work. She added, "I also love an opportunity to serve up a heavy dose of glamour in the MasterChef kitchen, and I have a feeling Giorgio is going to give me a real run for my money".

Torode Exit After Two Decades

Torode appeared on MasterChef for two decades before his exit, which followed an allegation of using a racist term. He said he had "no recollection" of the allegation, while an independent report by law firm Lewis Silkin upheld an allegation that he used "an extremely offensive racist term".

The same wider reset has already reshaped the show once: Gregg Wallace was sacked after 45 allegations of misconduct against him were upheld, and Dent replaced him. That leaves the franchise with a new on-screen pairing and a cleaner line between the old judging era and the version now heading to viewers.

Michelin Form, Strict Judging

Locatelli is a Michelin-star chef who worked at the Savoy early in his career before launching Olivo, Zafferano, Locanda Locatelli and Locatelli at the National Gallery. On the Table Manners podcast, he said, "I think I was a bad cop. I'm strict. Strict about cleanliness and organisation. Those little skills that you teach them slowly."

He also said, "There was somebody who really surprised me a few times in the positive. It was good fun to do, it was really good fun to be with them." His comments on the contestants suggest the already filmed series will lean on pace and precision, with entertainment figures finding the clock harder to beat than the sportspeople, who, in his words, "always hit the time."

For viewers, the important change is simple: the judging panel on a completed season now reflects a post-Torode lineup, with Locatelli and Dent carrying the brand forward. The show’s next public test is how that pair looks on screen after a year of upheaval around the franchise’s two best-known names.