A new era for MasterChef
After almost two decades fronted by Gregg Wallace and John Torode, the BBC is rolling out a new look for MasterChef. Restaurant critic Grace Dent and Irish chef Anna Haugh will lead the judges’ table for the show’s 22nd amateur series, a major shift for one of Britain’s best-known food competitions.
The announcement, made on Monday, follows a review into allegations concerning Wallace’s conduct. The BBC has not published findings, and Wallace and Torode will not return for the new series. Haugh had already stepped in for parts of the current season as the review unfolded, giving viewers an early glimpse of the new tone the show might take.
Dent, 51, isn’t new to the kitchen studio. She has been a regular guest critic across MasterChef formats for more than a decade. Her voice—sharp, warm, and unafraid to call it as she tastes it—has made her one of the most recognisable palates on British food TV. She said she was “over the moon” to be back full-time and eager to see what home cooks have been perfecting behind closed doors. She also flagged how keen she is to work with Haugh, praising her depth of restaurant experience.
Haugh, 44, brings a different angle: she’s a chef-patron who runs the acclaimed Myrtle Restaurant in Chelsea and has built a TV profile on shows like Ready Steady Cook. She sat on the judging panel of MasterChef: The Professionals in 2022 and, more recently, filled in during the late stages of the current MasterChef run. She called Dent “wonderful” and said the format has long inspired both home cooks and people in the industry.
For a show that built its modern identity around the Wallace–Torode pairing, this is a big reset. Wallace and Torode helped revive MasterChef in 2005 and turned it into a franchise with firm rules, a familiar rhythm, and high drama at the pass. Swapping in a critic–chef duo changes that chemistry. The kitchen remains, the pressure remains, but the palate and the point of view shift.
In practical terms, the core structure is expected to hold: invention tests, skills challenges, and high-stakes service tasks that stress everything from seasoning to timing. But Dent’s presence usually brings a laser focus on whether a plate makes sense beyond technique. Does the idea land? Is it delicious from first bite to last? Haugh’s background suggests she’ll push on fundamentals—clean flavours, temperature, and precise cooking—while rooting for dishes that show personal identity rather than trend-chasing.
The pair also change what viewers see at the bench. For the first time in the UK version’s history, the main MasterChef judging team will be two women. That matters. British food TV has long skewed towards male-led judging, especially on its most established formats. An all-female duo on a flagship series signals a different kind of authority—one built on endless hours in restaurants and kitchens, but also on how food fits into daily life.
Dent’s career spans beyond the studio. She writes the restaurant column for the Guardian and hosts the Comfort Eating podcast, which looks at the dishes people turn to when life gets real. She even competed on MasterChef: Battle of the Critics in 2023, a fun twist that put a reviewer under the lights she usually points at others. That background should make her feedback readable and specific—which is what nervous home cooks need when they’re sweating over a sauce.
Haugh’s path runs through classic kitchens and her own restaurant. At Myrtle, she blends Irish culinary roots with precise, modern technique. On TV, she’s built a reputation for being calm, practical, and firm when it counts. During her stint on The Professionals, she pressed contestants on detail—knife work, resting meat, getting a sauce to the right nappe—without turning the pass into theatre for theatre’s sake.
The changes don’t stop with the amateur series. In the sister show, MasterChef: The Professionals, Saturday Kitchen host Matt Tebbutt will step in as a judge alongside Marcus Wareing and Monica Galetti. It’s a notable appointment: Tebbutt has long experience translating chef know-how for a Saturday morning audience while keeping standards high. Wareing and Galetti remain the spine of that panel, so viewers should expect continuity with a fresh voice.
What should contestants expect from the new look? The brief is still brutal: cook smart, cook fast, tell a story on a plate. Dent tends to reward plates that feel complete—texture, acid, balance—and will call out muddled ideas. Haugh reads the kitchen like a chef: seasoning, heat control, and the kind of tidy, efficient work that means your fish isn’t over by the time your beurre blanc is ready. If anything, the bar for consistency just ticked up.
The stakes are high in another way too. The amateur series has launched careers. Past winners and finalists have opened restaurants, published cookbooks, and turned pop-ups into full-time work. That pipeline depends on the show’s credibility. A fresh panel needs to protect it, and the early signs—Haugh’s clear-eyed standards, Dent’s grounded, flavour-first critiques—suggest the brand is staying serious about food.
There’s also the audience to think about. MasterChef pulls in viewers who cook every night and viewers who don’t own a whisk. Dent speaks to both: she knows the world of white tablecloths and the comfort of beans on toast. Haugh bridges the gap from home kitchen to pro pass. Together, they could make the technical bits feel less like a lecture and more like a nudge: here’s why your sauce split, here’s how to fix it.
The timing of the handover matters. Haugh’s late-season cover this year gave a preview without forcing a sudden tonal lurch, and it probably helped the BBC gauge audience response. With the next amateur run now confirmed under Dent and Haugh, production can shape challenges to their strengths—expect more dishes where a strong concept meets disciplined execution, and fewer plates designed just to wow on Instagram.
As for Wallace and Torode, their departure ends a defining TV partnership. Between them, they shaped the sound of the show: Wallace’s enthusiasm, Torode’s chef’s-eye critique. The BBC has tied the shift to its review into allegations about Wallace’s conduct, and has not set out further detail. Torode exits alongside him, bringing down the curtain on a 20-year double act that turned “cooking under pressure” into primetime comfort viewing.
Production details for the new series will follow, but the direction is clear. The kitchen stays fierce. The plates need to sing. And with Dent and Haugh at the helm, the conversation around food might get a little sharper—less about spectacle, more about flavour, judgement, and whether a dish truly earns its place in the next round.
What changes and what stays
- Judges: Grace Dent and Anna Haugh take over for the 22nd amateur series.
- Why now: The move follows a BBC review into allegations about Gregg Wallace’s conduct; Wallace and John Torode won’t return.
- Continuity: Core format remains—skills tests, invention challenges, and service under pressure.
- Style shift: Expect flavour-led critique from Dent and technical precision from Haugh.
- The Professionals: Matt Tebbutt joins Marcus Wareing and Monica Galetti for the next series.
For viewers, that adds up to a familiar show with a new pulse. Different voices, same heat. The plates still have to tell a story—and now they’ll face two judges who ask if that story actually tastes good.