Taking the heat Will MasterChef have to rethink recipe after weeks in crisis?

When Banijay, the producers of MasterChef, held a dinner attended by its top executives, programme makers and presenters last week, the longevity of its wildly successful cooking show was among the achievements to be toasted, alongside its move to state-of-the-art studios in Birmingham.

- Michael Savage

Yet just hours before guests arrived, a social media post from MasterChef's erstwhile presenter Gregg Wallace began a nightmare fortnight that has left one of the BBC's best-known shows in need of not one, but two new judges. It has also left some in the TV world wondering if the show requires a wider overhaul.

Before a long-awaited report into allegations over his behaviour, Wallace's five-page post included an admission that he had used inappropriate language. But he claimed to have been "cleared of the most serious and sensational accusations". Wallace also revealed he had recently been diagnosed with autism and complained of facing an "incredible injustice".

At Banijay's dinner, its boss, Patrick Holland, made no attempt to dodge Wallace's outburst, instead emphasising the amount of work that had gone into the lawyer-led report. As they made small talk over the crab salad, his executives already knew the show was about to be plunged into deeper peril.

Wallace's fellow presenter, John Torode, was also the subject of a substantiated complaint in the report. He wasn't named, but given the furore it seemed unlikely his identity would be kept under wraps for long.

When the report finally arrived on Monday, it substantiated 45 allegations against Wallace. Torode chose to reveal that he was the subject of a substantiated complaint over the use of racist language, which he said he believed had never happened.