Giorgio Locatelli replaces John Torode as co-host of Celebrity MasterChef

Giorgio Locatelli has been announced arsenic the caller justice connected Celebrity MasterChef, aft John Torode was sacked by the BBC past year.

Locatelli, a cook and restauranteur who presently appears connected the Italian mentation of the amateur cooking show, volition beryllium seen alongside Grace Dent connected the adjacent UK personage series, which has already been filmed.

Locatelli said joining the amusement was "a existent honour", adding: "I can't hold for you to spot what our personage contestants bring to the kitchen, arsenic we are truly putting their culinary skills to the trial successful this series."

Dent said she was a "long-time admirer" of Locatelli's enactment and described him arsenic a "fabulous summation to our UK Celebrity MasterChef team".

"I besides emotion an accidental to service up a dense dose of glamour successful the MasterChef kitchen, and I person a feeling Giorgio is going to springiness maine a existent tally for my money," she joked.

Locatelli joins the amusement aft Torode was sacked pursuing an allegation of utilizing a racist term, which helium said helium had "no recollection" of.

Reflecting connected filming the series, Locatelli told the Table Manners podcast: "I deliberation I was a atrocious cop. I'm strict. Strict astir cleanliness and organisation. Those small skills that you thatch them slowly."

The contestants connected the caller bid person not yet been revealed, but Locatelli said 1 prima successful peculiar stood retired to him with the prime of immoderate of their dishes.

He told the podcast's presenters Jessie and Lennie Ware: "There was idiosyncratic who truly amazed maine a fewer times successful the positive. It was bully amusive to do, it was truly bully amusive to beryllium with them.

"The radical who worked successful amusement recovered it truthful hard to navigator to the time," helium reflected. "The sportspeople ever deed the time. Their beingness is tally by time, portion the different radical are each astir creativity."

The spin-off bid sees a fig of celebrities look cooking challenges, with judges overseeing their culinary skills until 1 prima makes it to the extremity to assertion the Celebrity MasterChef trophy.

Locatelli is simply a Michelin-star cook who worked astatine the Savoy aboriginal successful his career, earlier going connected to motorboat restaurants including Olivo, Zafferano, Locanda Locatelli and Locatelli astatine the National Gallery.

Torode was sacked from the BBC pursuing an allegation of utilizing "an highly violative racist term", which was upheld arsenic portion of an autarkic study by instrumentality steadfast Lewis Silkin.

His exit followed that of co-presenter Gregg Wallace, who was sacked aft 45 allegations of misconduct against him were upheld.

At the time, Wallace said helium was "deeply atrocious for immoderate distress" helium caused, and that helium "never acceptable retired to harm oregon humiliate".

Wallace was replaced by Dent, who appeared with Torode connected the past bid of Celebrity MasterChef.

Torode said: "I repetition that I person nary recollection of what I'm accused of. The enquiry could not adjacent authorities the day oregon twelvemonth of erstwhile I americium meant to person said thing wrong."

The presenter was replaced connected the main amateur bid of MasterChef by Anna Haugh.