BBC director-general Tim Davie has stressed the serious nature of the racist term John Torode is alleged to have used before being axed from MasterChef

John Torode’s contract on MasterChef will not be renewed, the BBC and production company Banijay UK have confirmed.Australian-born Torode, 59, started presenting MasterChef alongside Gregg Wallace in 2005.

John Torode had been a co-host of MasterChef for many years. He was removed from the show after an independent investigation upheld an allegation that he used a racist term in the workplace.

MasterChef star John Torode was left reeling after he was sensationally axed from the cooking show - with the Australian chef only finding out he had been fired after reading it on the BBC website

John Torode has confirmed that he is the other individual against whom an allegation has been upheld following an investigation into his co-star Gregg Wallace