Reading and Leeds festivals have announced their first headline acts, with a host of first-time headliners including Chappell Roan set to play next summer.

With a stellar year following the release of her debut album The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess, it will be Roan’s first festival headline set.

Rapper Travis Scott, known for his high on-stage energy and larger-than-life production, is also debuting in his Reading and Leeds headline slot.

Scott’s appearance is being billed as a “European exclusive”.

With seven albums to their name, it’s Bring Me The Horizon’s first headline slot too, although they have previously played at the festival.

Band frontman Oli Sykes said: “We are going to bring hands down the greatest show of our careers.

“It’s going to be our only UK performance next year and the final European show of the NEX GEN campaign before the band take time away, so if you want to see BMTH next year, this truly is your only chance. Can’t wait.”

Following his UK number-one album, Unreal Unearth, and first number-one song, Too Sweet, Hozier will also top the bill.

First appearing at Reading and Leeds in 2014, his 2025 headline slot is a UK festival exclusive performance.

Other acts on the line-up include two-time Brit award winner Becky Hill, rapper AJ Tracey, Rudimental, pop group The Kooks and rock act Bloc Party.

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Sammy Virji, Enter Shikari, Trippie Redd, Conan Gray, Amyl and The Sniffers, Wunderhorse and Royel Otis are also set to play.

Actress and singer Suki Waterhouse is also on the bill, with more acts still to be announced.

Tickets go on pre-sale on 6 December, with the general sale following on 9 December.

Reading and Leeds festivals run across the August Bank Holiday weekend, from 21 to 24 August.

MasterChef presenter John Torode has said he has found the recent reports about co-host Gregg Wallace “truly upsetting”.

The pair have presented the BBC One cooking show together for almost 20 years, since 2005.

In his first comments since the allegations surfaced, Torode said he would continue to be part of the programme, adding: “The thought of anyone who has appeared on our show not having a brilliant experience is awful to hear, and I have found the recent press reports truly upsetting.”

Wallace is facing allegations of inappropriate behaviour from more than a dozen people across a range of shows over a 17-year period. His lawyers have previously strongly denied “he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”, according to BBC News.

In a statement posted on Instagram, Torode said he had been away filming MasterChef overseas since last Friday.

“I love my job, and I love MasterChef,” he said. “I love being part of it and will continue to be part of it.

“During the last few days, I’ve been trying to make the best cookery programme, so being busy making the show and caring for our contestants has allowed me little time to think about anything else, but that has been hard.”

Torode said he “fully” supports the current investigation into Wallace’s alleged behaviour, but could not comment further while it is ongoing.

“I hope that you all understand and respect my silence on the matter moving forward,” he added.

Torode rose to TV fame in the mid-1990s as the resident chef on ITV’s This Morning and joined the revamped version of MasterChef when it launched in 2005. The show, initially called MasterChef Goes Large, followed the original series, which was hosted by Lloyd Grossman from 1990 to 2001.

On Tuesday, the BBC confirmed it was removing two MasterChef celebrity Christmas specials from the schedule following the allegations about Wallace. However, the current series of MasterChef: The Professionals is airing as planned.

A spokesperson for the broadcaster said it took the decision as the series can be “life-changing” for the chefs taking part, but the “Christmas specials are obviously a different type of show”.

Read more:
What are the allegations – and what has Wallace said?
‘Middle-aged women’: An epic failure in crisis management

Wallace has temporarily stepped down from the cooking show while historical misconduct complaints are externally reviewed by producers Banijay UK.

The BBC has also pulled three repeat episodes of Inside The Factory from the Christmas schedule.

Torode response polar opposite of Wallace ramblings

Katie Spencer

Arts and entertainment correspondent

For two decades he’s stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Gregg Wallace but now, with one Instagram post, John Torode is attempting to massively distance himself from the man he’s stood so closely beside.

Literal distance, he says, is the reason he didn’t comment sooner. Keen to stress he’s been away filming overseas. At the same time acknowledging he’s struggled to think of little else.

In comparison to Wallace’s Sunday morning wildly misogynistic ramblings (for which he’s since apologised) it is the polar opposite of responses.

Theirs was always an unusual bond. Torode had, in interviews, often been keen to stress that the pair didn’t associate socially. Published quotes which Torode can, in the future, now helpfully point to when it comes to keeping the public on side.

Wallace has – via his lawyers – denied any behaviour of a sexually harassing nature. And he won’t have read his former co-presenter’s post on Instagram itself having reportedly already unfollowed him over the weekend.

With lawyers hired by Masterchef’s makers, Banijay, carrying out their independent investigation into allegations of misconduct by Wallace, it’s correct that he can’t say much more.

But it is a post that will please the BBC – with Torode respectfully expressing his upset at the claims whilst defending the beloved primetime show, suggesting he isn’t going anywhere and indicating his hopes that the show will go on with or without Wallace beside him.

Sky News can confirm the broadcaster was alerted to Wallace’s “unacceptable” behaviour while filming the series more than a year and a half ago, with a memo shared with staff at the Nestle factory in York showing concerns were raised after his final visit in February 2023.

More allegations have surfaced against the presenter this week – with two women claiming he had inappropriately touched them.

One told the BBC he “groped” her bottom, while another alleged he laughed after touching her bottom “with his waist and penis” when brushing past her. A third claimed Wallace’s penis was partially exposed in his dressing room in what she felt was a “power play”.

The Guardian also reported a complaint that he once asked a sign language interpreter to translate “big boobs” and “sexy bum” in front of the audience at the BBC Good Food Show.

Earlier, one former contestant told Sky News that a remark Wallace made when she returned as a guest judge left her crying in the toilets.

Another described the allegations as the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to the show – claiming he witnessed a “toxic environment” on set and the problem was “larger” than just the presenter.

Sky News has contacted representatives for Wallace for comment on the allegations against him.

At the weekend, he shared a video dismissing the initial claims, putting them down to “middle-class women of a certain age”.

He later posted another clip apologising for the remarks.

What have the BBC and producers said?

A spokesperson for Banijay UK, which has appointed a law firm to lead its investigation, has said the company takes complaints “incredibly seriously” but will not comment on individual allegations while the external investigation is ongoing.

“It is important to note that MasterChef welfare processes are regularly adapted and strengthened and there are clear protocols to support both crew and contributors,” the spokesperson said.

“These include multiple ways of reporting issues, including anonymously.”

In response to reports multiple complaints had been raised with the BBC, a source for the corporation said it would not comment on individuals or any internal HR processes, but that it would be “wrong to report the BBC has done nothing if or when matters have been raised with us – not least because it is already being widely reported there were interventions in both 2017 and 2018 where action was taken”.

Last week, a BBC spokesperson said any issues raised are taken seriously and there are “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,” they said.

The BBC was alerted to Gregg Wallace’s “unacceptable” behaviour while filming Inside The Factory more than a year and a half ago, Sky News can confirm.

A memo to staff at the Nestle factory in York shows concerns were raised with both the broadcaster and production company Voltage TV after Wallace’s final visit in February 2023.

The memo, which was shared on the company intranet, says the “experience of some of the team taking part in the filming had not been a pleasant one” and had “compromised” Nestle’s values.

An accompanying letter from Nestle’s head of media relations to the factory manager states: “We have written to the production company… and spoken to the BBC to bring our unacceptable experience to their attention in the hope that it is not repeated in other workplaces around the UK.”

While the letter does not name Wallace directly, it is understood to be in reference to him.

Wallace, who is best known for being a MasterChef presenter, is facing allegations of inappropriate behaviour from more than a dozen people across a range of shows over a 17-year period.

His lawyers have said it’s “entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.

Wallace quit as co-presenter of Inside the Factory in March 2023, saying he intended to focus on other TV commitments, and his young son, who is autistic.

At the time, there were reports the 60-year-old former greengrocer had offended some staff at the York factory with inappropriate comments.

The company’s memo reiterates a “zero-tolerance approach towards any allegation of discrimination, harassment or bullying of any kind in the workplace, whether this be by an employee, contractor, or visitor”.

It was the programme’s fifth visit to a Nestle site and its third to York, but the memo says “we will not be working with Inside the Factory again in the future” as the show “did not meet our high standards of respect”.

“We will not tolerate any kind of racism, misogyny, homophobia, bullying, exclusion or harassment and we have strict policies in place to deal swiftly and decisively with this kind of behaviour,” the memo adds.

Sky News has contacted representatives for Wallace, and the BBC and Voltage TV for comment.

Earlier on Tuesday, the BBC confirmed it was pulling three repeat episodes of Inside The Factory from the Christmas schedule.

It told Sky News it would not be removing them from iPlayer “at this stage”.

Two celebrity MasterChef Christmas specials have also been removed from the schedule.

Wallace has temporarily stepped down from the cooking show while the complaints are externally reviewed by a law firm.

Groping allegation

More allegations against the presenter surfaced on Tuesday – with two women claiming Wallace had inappropriately touched them.

One told the BBC he “groped” her bottom, while another alleged he laughed after touching her bottom “with his waist and penis” when brushing past her.

A third claimed Wallace’s penis was partially exposed in his dressing room in what she felt was a “power play”.

The Guardian also reported a complaint that he once asked a sign language interpreter to translate “big boobs” and “sexy bum” in front of the audience at the BBC Good Food Show.

Sky News has also asked the BBC and Wallace’s representatives for comment on these claims.

An increasing number of people have accused the presenter of inappropriate sexual comments in recent days, including a former contestant who told Sky News one remark left her crying in the toilets.

Jackie Kearney said she had been “troubled” by Wallace’s “household favourite status” as she felt he was “a bit of a sleaze behind closed doors”.

Another former contestant told Sky News the claims are just the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to MasterChef.

He claimed to have witnessed a “toxic environment” on set and the problem was “larger” than just the presenter.

On Sunday, Wallace responded with a social media video dismissing his accusers as “middle-class women of a certain age”.

The remark prompted a huge backlash, with even Downing Street commenting.

He apologised in another clip on Monday, saying he “wasn’t in a good head space” when he posted the previous video.

Read more:
What are the allegations – and what has Wallace said?
‘Middle-aged women’: An epic failure in crisis management

What have the BBC and producers said?

Banijay UK has appointed law firm Lewis Silkin to lead the investigation.

A spokesperson said the company takes complaints “incredibly seriously” but will not comment on individual allegations while the external investigation is ongoing.

“It is important to note that MasterChef welfare processes are regularly adapted and strengthened and there are clear protocols to support both crew and contributors,” the Banijay spokesperson said.

“These include multiple ways of reporting issues, including anonymously.”

In response to reports multiple complaints had been raised with the BBC, a source for the corporation said it would not comment on individuals or any internal HR processes, but that it would be “wrong to report the BBC has done nothing if or when matters have been raised with us – not least because it is already being widely reported there were interventions in both 2017 and 2018 where action was taken”.

Last week, a BBC spokesperson said any issues raised are taken seriously and there are “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,” they said.