EXCLUSIVE: New Celebrity MasterChef host Grace Dent took less than 60 seconds to sign up to the BBC show, we can reveal.

Grace Dent is to be a judge for the next series of Celebrity MasterChef alongside John Torode on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Award-winning restaurant critic, Grace, has been a regular guest on MasterChef for over a decade, as well as competing as a contestant on last year’s MasterChef: Battle of the Critics 2023.

Unearthed comments reveal critic Grace Dent, who is replacing Gregg Wallace after he stood aside over sexual misconduct allegations, has repeatedly poked fun at the BBC programme

Restaurant critic Grace Dent has been appointed as the new judge for “Celebrity MasterChef,” stepping into the role vacated by Gregg Wallace following his departure amid historical misconduct allegations.

If revenge is a dish best served cold, then Greg Wallace must currently be feeling as though he’s crunching on an ice cube. After all, there can be few better ways to get one’s own back on a man who criticised “middle class women of a certain age” than by replacing him with one.

Grace Dent has stepped in as judge on Celebrity MasterChef for 2025. The critic, who has been a regular guest on MasterChef for more than a decade, will join John Torode following the Gregg Wallace allegations that have emerged in the past couple of weeks.

Grace Dent will be taking over Gregg Wallace's MasterChef judging role after he stepped back from the show following allegations of inappropriate, over-sexualised behaviour behind the scenes. Though he eventually apologised for it,

The critic has also previously made jibes about shamed Gregg Wallace - and even her new co-host John Torode was not spared

Grace Dent has been announced as the star replacing Gregg Wallace on MasterChef and will join John Torode for the new series of the BBC cooking show. Dent is a best-selling author and chart-topping podcaster,