The head of the BBC says MasterChef can survive its current scandal as it is “much bigger than individuals” – but the corporation must “make sure we’re in the right place in terms of the culture of the show”.
Director-general Tim Davie said he “absolutely” thinks the popular cooking contest has a future, with the production’s current deal with the corporation set to run out in 2028, and praised it as “a great programme that’s loved by audiences”.
Speaking as the BBC unveiled its annual report, and following a series of recent controversies, Mr Davie said the corporation’s leadership team will not “tolerate behaviour that is not in line with our values”, and confirmed “senior individuals and people involved in these cases are being held to account”.
In response, Wallace said he was “deeply sorry” and never set out to “harm or humiliate”.
A few hours later, MasterChef presenter John Torode said an allegation he used “racial language” was upheld in the report as part of a review.
Torode has said he has “no recollection of the incident” and “did not believe that it happened”.
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Image: John Torode and Gregg Wallace in 2019. Pic: Casey Gutteridge/Shutterstock
Mr Davie said the BBC’s leadership team would not “tolerate behaviour that is not in line with our values,” while BBC chair Samir Shah acknowledged there were still pockets within the corporation where “powerful individuals” can still “make life for their colleagues unbearable”.
They said several BBC staff members had been dismissed in the last three months following an independent review into workplace culture.
Wallace, who was sacked from MasterChef last week, is not included in that count as he was not directly contracted by the corporation, but was employed by independent production company Banijay.
Image: John Torode and Gregg Wallace in 2008. Pic: PA
The BBC has yet to decide if the unseen MasterChef series – filmed with both Wallace and Torode last year – will be aired or not.
‘We will make mistakes’
News of the findings in the Gregg Wallace report came on the same day it was revealed the BBC was deemed to have breached its editorial guidelines over a Gaza documentary that was narrated by the child of a Hamas official.
Media watchdog Ofcom subsequently launched its own investigation into Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone, which was removed from BBC iPlayer in February.
While the 2024-25 annual report showed a small rise in trust overall for the corporation, Mr Davie said it had been a year which saw the reputation of the BBC damaged by “serious failings” in the making of the documentary.
He said it was important that the BBC “took full responsibility for those failings and apologised for them” and called the documentary “the most challenging editorial issue” he has dealt with.
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BBC under fire over Wallace and Gaza
Mr Davie said the BBC was “taking action to ensure proper accountability and we’re taking immediate steps to stop a failing like this being repeated”.
Despite a series of controversies in recent months – including livestreaming the controversial Bob Vylan set at Glastonbury, when the band led chants of “death to the IDF” – Mr Davie insisted he can “lead” the BBC in the right direction.
When asked if he would resign, he replied: “I simply think I’m in a place where I can work to improve dramatically the BBC and lead it in the right way.
“We will make mistakes, but I think as a leadership and myself, I’ve been very clear, and I think we have been decisive.”
Image: BBC director-general Tim Davie. Pic: PA
After what he called a “tough period,” he said the job of director-general was not one to take on “if you want a quiet life or a stress-free existence”.
Mr Shah backed Mr Davie, saying he had shown “very strong leadership throughout all this period and he has my full support”.
The report showed that Mr Davie, who has been in the role since 2020, has had a 3.8% pay rise, with his salary going up from £527,000 last year to £547,000.
BBC’s top-earning stars revealed
The BBC annual report also revealed its on-screen top earners, which saw former Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker top the chart for the eighth year running.
The former Match Of The Day presenter, who left the BBC in May, earned £1.35m in 2024/25, according to the corporation’s annual report.
Last year’s BBC annual review was overshadowed by controversy over flagship show Strictly Come Dancing, while the year before saw disgraced newsreader Huw Edwards named the corporation’s highest-paid news anchor, despite having been suspended for nine months.
Dean Cain has been branded the “worst superman ever” as he announced he will join the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “ASAP”.
The 59-year-old, who was cast as Superman in the TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, announced he had joined the team amid the federal agency’s unprecedented immigration raids.
He told Fox News on Wednesday his recruitment video on Instagram had gone viral and since then, “I have spoken with some of the officials over at ICE and I will be sworn in as an ICE agent ASAP”.
“You can defend your homeland and get great benefits,” he said in the Instagram post where he appealed for his followers to join ICE.
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Speaking with the Superman theme song in the background, he said “hundreds of thousands of criminals” had been arrested since US President Donald Trump took office.
He then told his followers they would get a series of benefits if they joined ICE, including a $50,000 (£37,407) signing bonus and student loan repayment.
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Who is being targeted in Trump’s immigration raids?
“If you want to help save America ICE is arresting the worst of the worst and removing them from America’s streets,” he said, before adding: “I voted for that.”
ICE agents are under pressure from the White House to boost their deportation numbers in line with Mr Trump’s campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration.
Cain’s post on Instagram received some backlash, with one user commenting: “Worst superman ever”.
Another said: “Shame on you Dean – that’s the most un-Superman thing you could possibly advocate.”
One fan turned against him and said: “Until I saw this I was such a fan. What a sad human being you must be.”
A man who stalked actress Anna Friel for nearly three years is to be sentenced next month.
Phil Appleton, 71, sent numerous messages, visited the actress’s home address several times and left “unwanted” gifts between January 2022 and December last year, Reading Crown Court previously heard.
The defendant, described online as an actor and retired pilot, admitted stalking under Section 2A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 earlier this week.
Appleton was due to be sentenced on Thursday but judge Alan Blake adjourned the hearing until 18 September for a pre-sentence report to be carried out.
The court heard the pensioner, from Windsor in Berkshire, has been in custody for six months and has spent time in a mental health facility.
Granted conditional bail, he was told he must not contact Ms Friel or enter the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and is to co-operate with those conducting the pre-sentence report.
Friel, 49, rose to fame with her role as Beth Jordache in Channel 4 soap opera Brookside.
Oasis provided the most “ground-shaking” performance at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium when they last performed there in 2009, according to analysis of seismic data.
The Gallagher brothers’ last Scottish gig has topped the chart for the most powerful seismic concert at the venue in the past 20 years, the British Geological Survey (BGS) said.
Oasis’ June 2009 gig beat the Red Hot Chili Peppers in June 2004, Kings of Leon in June 2011 and Taylor Swift in June 2024 – when measuring the peak earthshaking power of each event.
Image: Noel Gallagher. Pic: PA
The measurements were taken from a seismic monitoring station, some 4km from the venue.
At peak power of 215.06kW, the Oasis gig was more than twice as powerful as the next strongest one by the Red Hot Chili Peppers at 106.87kW.
Murrayfield Stadium’s most seismic concerts:
• Oasis: 17 June 2009, 215.06kW • Red Hot Chili Peppers: 14 June 2004, 106.87kW • Kings of Leon: 26 June 2011, 96.18kW • Taylor Swift: 8 June 2024, 82.56kW • Foo Fighters: 8 September 2015, 78.65kW • Harry Styles: 26 May 2023, 65.38kW • Beyonce: 20 May 2023, 29.31kW • Robbie Williams: 31 May 2025, 14.18kW • Bon Jovi: 22 June 2011, 13.20kW • Spice Girls: 8 June 2019, 10.63kW • One Direction: 3 June 2014, 6.82kW
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The rankings were revealed ahead of Oasis’ return to the Scottish capital this weekend as part of their comeback tour.
The power output is not related to the volume of the band or the crowd; rather, it is the movement of fans jumping and dancing in time to the music, with the height of the jumping and weight of the crowd also potential factors.
BGS seismologist Callum Harrison said: “In 2009, seismic signals generated by Oasis fans were consistent with a crowd energy of 215kW at its peak – enough to power around 30 of the scooters featured on the iconic Be Here Now album cover.
“Our network of sensors around the country is sensitive enough to pick up ground movement from a source miles away that may not be detectable to humans – and precise enough to register exact timestamps for when the events occur.
“The peak energy reading was recorded around 8.30pm on that June evening back in 2009, which correlates to the time the band first took the stage and performed Rock ‘N’ Roll Star, which couldn’t be more fitting in terms of topping our seismic music chart.”
The BGS keeps an archive of continuous ground motion recordings from seismic sensors around the country, dating back several decades.
Mr Harrison said: “Improving our understanding of historical earthquakes is an important part of BGS research in trying to understand and mitigate the seismic risk around the country.”
Oasis will take to Murrayfield’s stage on Friday, Saturday and Tuesday, so there is potential for another “shakermaker”.
Mr Harrison said it is “certainly possible” the band could top their 2009 gig, adding: “We’ll just have to wait and see.
“The main contributing factors are going to be how energetic the crowd is. If they’re jumping along with the music, how high or how fast are they jumping?”