Drought declared in Midlands – and more hosepipe bans on the way

The East and West Midlands have become the latest areas declared to be in drought, and more hosepipe bans are expected, after one of the UK’s driest springs on record.

The Environment Agency warned millions more people will be affected this summer, following a meeting on Tuesday of the National Drought Group.

The agency said a drought has been declared in West and East Midlands – joining three regions already in drought: Cumbria and Lancashire, Yorkshire and Greater Manchester, and Merseyside and Cheshire.

Thames Wessex, parts of the Solent and South Downs, parts of East Anglia and Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire are likely to be in drought in the next few months, it said.

The Environment Agency said it expects to see more companies add hosepipe bans, although this will also be dependent on the rainfall and temperatures in the coming weeks.

If England gets 80 per cent of its long-term average rainfall and warm temperatures over the coming weeks, the total number of areas given “drought” status could reach eight by September, the watchdog predicted.

To prepare for and tackle the impacts, the Environment Agency said it has been working closely with water companies, which are following their drought plans to ensure supply, as well as the National Farmers’ Union and local authorities.

It comes after Thames Water became the latest utility to announce a hosepipe ban, which will begin next Tuesday for customers in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, most of Wiltshire and some parts of Berkshire.

Stuart Sampson, drought manager at the Environment Agency, said the situation for farmers has been “deteriorating” with already low levels in irrigation reservoirs prompting concerns for the rest of the summer.

Some farmers have been reporting poor crop quality as well as lower yields on livestock, while fears are growing over the impact that conditions could have on winter feed.

While the Environment Agency is planning for its reasonable worst case scenario, Will Lang, chief meteorologist at the Met Office said July is likely to see more changeable weather, with sporadic rainfall and some hot spells.

And for the longer-term outlook, Mr Lang said there is “no strong signal” for it being very dry or extremely wet.

“It could go either way, but the most likely situation is that we will have somewhere near average rainfall for the UK and also for England and Wales as a whole,” he said.

In Yorskhire, police urged people not to reach out to them about those flouting the hosepipe bans but to contact Yorkshire Water instead.

Chief Superintendent Tracy Bradley, from Humberside Police, told the BBC that calls “could divert call handlers away from dealing with emergencies or other policing matters”.

Highest-paid BBC stars revealed in annual salary report

The BBC has announced the salaries of its highest-paid stars from 2024/25, with Gary Lineker topping the list two months after leaving the corporation.

Radio 2 DJ Zoe Ball was the second highest-paid employee on the corporation’s annual report, having earned £515k-£519k, which is a £435k drop from last year’s salary after her departure from the station’s breakfast show.

Football pundit Alan Shearer has had a £700k increase to sit in third place, with £440k-£444k, while Radio 1 DJ Greg James is close behind with £420k-£429k.

Broadcasters Nick Robinson and Fiona Bruce are on the same salary (£410k – £414k), in fifth place.

This is the eighth consecutive year Lineker has topped the list and he is the only star paid more than £1m, with takings of £1.35m – £1.354m – no change from last year.

The salary report arrives shortly after Lineker quit the corporation, having worked there for 28 years – and criticised bosses for “bowing to pressure from the top” after failing to air the documentary Gaza: Doctors Under Attack.

Meanwhile, Ball stepped down from Radio 2’s Breakfast Show in December, but returned in May with a new Saturday afternoon programme.

Other stars to have seen drastic increases include Laura Kuenssberg, who presents her own Sunday morning politics show, and Radio 2 DJ Vernon Kay.

The salaries of many of the BBC’s most famous names are not disclosed on the list, as the corporation refrains from including those paid through independent production companies.

These include Strictly hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, as well as chat show presenter Graham Norton.

Huw Edwards, who was the third highest-paid employee on the 2023/24 list, is absent from this year’s list, having resigned from the BBC last year amid a scandal that saw the presenter admit to accessing indecent images of children as young as seven.

The veteran broadcaster, 63, was handed a six-month suspended sentence in September 2024.

Find the full list below:

1. Gary Lineker £1,350,000-£1,354,999 (no change)

2. Zoe Ball £515,000-£519,999 (down from £950,000-£954,999)

3. Alan Shearer £440,000-£444,999 (up from £380,000-£384,999)

4. Greg James £425,000-£429,999 (up from £415,000-£419,999)

=5. Fiona Bruce £410,000-£414,999 up from £405,000-£409,999)

=5. Nick Robinson £410,000-£414,999 (up from £345,000-£349,999)

7. Stephen Nolan £405,000-£409,999 (no change)

8. Laura Kuenssberg £395,000-£399,999 (up from £325,000-£329,999)

9. Vernon Kay £390,000-£394,999 (up from £320,000-£324,999)

10. Justin Webb £365,000-£369,999 (up from £320,000-£324,999)

=11. Scott Mills £355,000-£359,999 (up from £315,000-£319,999)

=11. Naga Munchetty £355,000-£359,999 (up from £345,000-£349,999)

13. Sophie Raworth £350,000-£354,999 (up from £325,000-£329,999)

14. Clive Myrie £335,000-£339,999 (up from £310,000-£314,999)

=15. Mark Chapman £325,000-£329,999 (up from £260,000-£264,999)

=15. Mishal Husain £325,000-£329,999 (down from £340,000-£344,999)

17. Amol Rajan £315,000-£319,999 (up from £310,000-£314,999)

=18. Sara Cox £310,000-£314,999 (down from £315,000-£319,999)

=18. Jeremy Vine £310,000-£314,999 (up from £285,000-£289,999)

=20. Nicky Campbell £300,000-£304,999 (up from £295,000-£299,999)

=20. Reeta Chakrabarti £300,000-£304,999 (up from £270,000-£274,999)

=20. Evan Davis £300,000-£304,999 (up from £290,000-£294,999)

=23. Ros Atkins £295,000-£299,999 (up from £290,000-£294,999)

=23. Tina Daheley £295,000-£299,999 (up from £270,000-£274,999)

25. Emma Barnett £285,000-£289,999 (not listed in 2023/24)

26. Victoria Derbyshire £275,000-£279,999 (down from £295,000-£299,999)

27. Chris Mason £270,000-£274,999 (up from £260,000-£264,999)

28. Jeremy Bowen £260,000-£264,999 (up from £240,000-£244,999)

29. Sarah Montague £250,000-£254,999 (up from £245,000-£249,999)

30. Trevor Nelson £245,000-£249,999 (up from £235,000-£239,999)

=31. Katya Adler £240,000-£244,999 (up from £230,000-£234,999)

=31. Jon Kay £240,000-£244,999 (up from £225,000-£229,999)

=33. Rick Edwards £235,000-£239,999 (up from £215,000-£219,999)

=33. Faisal Islam £235,000-£239,999 (down from £260,000-£264,999)

=33. Fergal Keane £235,000-£239,999 (up from £225,000-£229,999)

=36. Jason Mohammad £230,000-£234,999 (down from £245,000-£249,999)

=36. Sarah Smith £230,000-£234,999 (up from £225,000-£229,999)

=36. Jo Whiley £230,000-£234,999 (down from £245,000-£249,999)

39. Simon Jack £225,000-£229,999 (down from £240,000-£244,999)

=40. Rachel Burden £220,000-£224,999 (no change)

=40. Katie Razzall £220,000-£224,999 (not listed in 2023/24)

=42. Mark Easton £210,000-£214,999 (up from £205,000-£209,999)

=42. Orla Guerin £210,000-£214,999 (up from £195,000-£199,999)

=42. Stephen Sackur £210,000-£214,999 (up from £200,000-£204,999)

=45. Lyse Doucet £205,000-£209,999 (no change)

=45. Jonny Dymond £205,000-£209,999 (up from £195,000-£199,999)

=45. Christian Fraser £205,000-£209,999 (up from £195,000-£199,999)

=45. Alex Scott £205,000-£209,999 (down from £220,000-£224,999)

=45. Ben Thompson £205,000-£209,999 (down from £225,000-£229,999)

=50. Matthew Amroliwala £200,000-£204,999 (up from £195,000-£199,999)

=50. Ben Brown £200,000-£204,999 (up from £185,000-£189,999)

=50. Jane Hill £200,000-£204,999 (up from £178,000-£184,999)

=50. Lucy Hockings £200,000-£204,999 (up from £190,000-£194,999)

=50. Sally Nugent £200,000-£204,999 (up from £195,000-£199,999)

=50. Chris Sutton £200,000-£204,999 (up from £190,000-£194,999)

=56. Owain Wyn Evans £195,000-£199,999 (down from £200,000-£204,999)

=56. Maryam Moshiri £195,000-£199,999 (up from £185,000-£189,999)

=58. Sally Bundock £190,000-£194,999 (not listed in 2023/24)

=58. Craig Charles £190,000-£194,999 (up from £185,000-£189,999)

=58. Annita McVeigh £190,000-£194,999 (not listed in 2023/24)

=58. John Simpson £190,000-£194,999 (no change)=58. Charlie Stayt £190,000-£194,999 (no change)

=63. Caitriona Perry £185,000-£189,999 (not listed in 2023/24)

=63. Sumi Somaskanda £185,000-£189,999 (not listed in 2023/24)

=65. Gary Davies £178,000-£184,999 (down from £200,000-£204,999)

=65. Charlie Hedges £178,000-£184,999 (not listed in 2023/24)

=65. Steven Lai £178,888-£184,999 (not listed in 2023/24)

Trump kept FIFA trophy in Oval Office – meaning Chelsea lifted a replica

President Donald Trump revealed that FIFA officials gave him the Club World Cup trophy ahead of Chelsea’s win in inaugural competition’s final.

Before the showpiece game at MetLife Stadium, New Jersey, Trump told broadcaster DAZN that he was gifted the trophy, and that it currently sits in the Oval Office.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino visited the White House, along with the trophy, in March.

“They said, ‘Could you hold this trophy for a little while?’ We put it in the Oval Office,” Trump said. “And then I said, ‘When are you going to pick up the trophy?’ He says, ‘We’re never going to pick it up. You can have it forever in the Oval Office. We’re making a new one.’”

“And they actually made a new one. So that was quite exciting…It’s in the Oval right now,” he added.

This meant that, despite upsetting the odds with their triumph over European champions Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea had to make do with the replica trophy.

Trump also quipped he “could” write an executive order changing the name of “soccer” to “football.”

“They would call it football, but I guess we call it soccer,” Trump said, referring to the sport’s name throughout much of the world.

The interviewer asked: “What if we make an executive order that we can only say football?”

“I think we could do that,” he added. “I think I could do that.”

Trump grabbed headlines throughout Sunday’s final. He was jeered when he appeared on the stadium’s screens alongside First Lady Melania Trump, and again when he walked onto the pitch to present medals to the players with Infantino, who confirmed last week that FIFA opened a new office in New York City’s Trump Tower.

More confusion was sparked online when the president remained with the Chelsea players on stage as they celebrated, having already handed captain Reece James the trophy.

After the match, players from the English Premier League club admitted they didn’t expect the president to stay with them.

“I knew he was going to be here but I didn’t know he was going to be on the stand when we lifted the trophy. I was a bit confused, yes,” Cole Palmer, who scored twice in the game, told PA Media.

“They told me that he was going to present the trophy and then exit the stage, and I thought that he was going to exit the stage, but he wanted to stay,” captain James added.

‘Beloved’ nurse on first day of job among four killed in Southend plane crash

A Chilean-born nurse has become the first victim to be named after four people were killed in a plane crash at London Southend Airport.

Maria Fernanda Rojaz Ortiz, 31, a German citizen born in Chile, was reportedly on her first day as a flight nurse on board the small aircraft when it came down in an explosion after take-off on Sunday afternoon.

A Dutch pilot and co-pilot, along with one other person, were also on the Beech B200 Super King Air, operated by Zeusch Aviation, which specialises in medical evacuations.

A friend of Ms Ortiz, Anna Smith, told the BBC it had been the 31-year-old’s first day as a flight nurse, having previously worked as a nurse in the public sector.

“She was so excited for this new job,” she said, adding: “She had a giving heart and was humble, and chose a profession that reflected that.”

It is understood that the plane had dropped off a patient at Southend, and was due to return to its base in the Netherlands

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch has started an investigation, with inspectors who have expertise in aircraft operations, human factors, engineering and recorded data already dispatched to the crash site.

The airport remains closed.

Think we live in the age of ‘blockbuster slop’? Try watching Superman

Look up in the sky! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a hackneyed opening line? No – it’s Superman (2025), James Gunn’s new blockbuster, which flew dashingly into cinemas last Friday. The film comes at a precarious time for blockbusters, arriving in a forbidding post-pandemic landscape where superhero movies, still ubiquitous, are no longer the bankable certainties they were a decade ago. If “superhero fatigue” is the phrase du jour when it comes to recent audience attitudes, then Gunn clearly didn’t get the memo.

Superman is as unapologetically comic book-ish as any film in recent memory, and promises much more to come. It heralds a complete overhaul of the DC Comics movie universe, following more than a decade of critically panned, commercially wavering releases, from Man of Steel (2013) through to The Flash (2023). Gunn, best known for directing Marvel’s much-loved Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, took over as co-chair of DC Studios in 2022, and is overseeing the new creative direction of the franchise himself.

On paper, Superman is the kind of film that embodies what is so drab and off-putting about contemporary blockbuster cinema: a reboot of a character we’ve seen adapted ad nauseum. But here’s the thing: it’s really very good. So good, in fact – lively, and sincere, with an unexpected timeliness – that it ought to upend the widespread cynicism surrounding the modern blockbuster and its viability as an artform.

There is often a temptation to conflate blockbuster filmmaking into one homogeneously disappointing entity – a uric canal down which the year’s big releases grimly float. And sure enough, even if we look at just this year’s offerings, there are plenty of lacklustre blockbusters out there: some commercially successful (A Minecraft Movie; How to Train Your Dragon; Mission: Impossible– The Final Reckoning); others less so (Captain America: Brave New World; Snow White). These represent the kind of output that has come to be referred to as “slop”: interchangeable franchise extensions bereft of imagination, ideology or craft. But this is only half the story.

Twenty-twenty-five has been no one’s idea of a banner year for cinema, but this summer has seen the release of several sturdy, worthwhile blockbusters, from Ryan Coogler’s brilliant Sinners, a vampiric period thriller, to the Florence Pugh-fronted Marvel outing Thunderbolts*, and 28 Years Later, a muscular sequel directed by Danny Boyle. Significantly, these films have not only garnered strong reviews but have enjoyed healthy showings at the box office. Superman banked $217m globally across its opening weekend. Sinners made back nearly four times its budget.

Even Jurassic World Rebirth – arguably the best Jurassic film since 1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park, if that doesn’t sound too much like faint praise – shot past industry predictions and is currently racing up the yearly Top 10 ranking. It’s a relief to know that there is still an audience for well-made mainstream entertainment; that the doom-mongering about cinema’s apocalyptic future is premature.

The rest of the year features a number of prominent blockbusters from real-deal, big-name filmmakers: in August, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio; in November, Edgar Wright’s The Running Man, starring Glen Powell; in December, Avatar: Fire & Ash, directed by James Cameron. It’s entirely possible that we will end 2025 in the rare situation where several of the very best films are also among the most widely seen. The blockbuster, in other words, isn’t dead yet – and it would take more than Kryptonite to kill it.

‘Superman’ is in cinemas now

Are we all just working for Zuckerberg?

Musicians have always been the ones to speak truth to power. To challenge the status quo. To start the rebellion. They have always been the ones brave enough to stand up and say: “Stop.  You cannot control my voice. You cannot control me”.

But when it comes to social media platforms, that power of freedom is just an illusion. The truth is: they just controlled us. They divided us. They strangled the reach of our voices through their algorithms, and made us work for them for free.

This always amazes me with much loved pop icon Taylor Swift, who has worked to build her instagram audience to 280 million followers – “Follow me on Instagram” she lovingly advocates to her audience – and yet, she only has an average of 1.5% of her audience tap the like button on her posts. She has to turn off comments because of the hate and she cannot direct people back to her website – not because they don’t love her, but because Zuck is controlling her reach.

And if the biggest pop icon of our time is being controlled by Meta’s algorithms, what hope does any other artist and musician have?

The reality is that if Swift could actually reach her audience with a post, and 280 million people actually saw it, she would be double the size of NBC in the US and one of the biggest media channels in the world. And when hateful comments are eliminated, she could turn on comments and have personal engagement from real people. And when she can link people back to her website from posts, she will have hundreds of millions of people back to her own website.

This is possible! This is the new world of social media that we have built at WeAre8. This is true creative and economic freedom. We unlock the algorithms so people’s followers actually see them, we have built AI to eliminate abusive comments, we encourage people to link from the platform back to artists’ websites. In the world of 8, Swift won’t just be singing half time at the Super Bowl, she will be buying the rights to host the superbowl on Taylorswift.com.

Today she is working for Mark Zuckerberg. And so are 2 billion other people. But the future at 8 brings real transformation and hope. When you unlock the algorithms, when you elevate the voices of artists, when you eliminate the controls and share the economics, everything changes.

Musicians can get discovered, they can be elevated and reach their audiences. They can get much bigger brand deals and they can release music independently. And most importantly, they can create the music they want to bring to the world – not just create sounds that they think an algorithm would like.  In the world of 8, every artist wins.

‘We the people’ are the largest unpaid workforce in human history. And every artist on the planet is controlled by Meta algorithms. Because let’s be honest, are we really imagining anymore? Or are we just optimising?

We live in a world where your song, your art, your wild idea about space-funk cello solos can’t even reach your own damn audience unless it performs well on the algorithm. The art of rebellion, the beauty of raw expression now has to come with captions like “Wait for it…” and “This will blow your mind 🤯.” Otherwise? It dies.

And if John Lennon was around now, would Imagine even break through the noise? Would he be told by some TikTok growth hacker to add a dance move and remix it with Doja Cat to make it trend? Would the song that once gave us chills… get five seconds of attention before someone swipes up to watch a dog play the piano?

We’ve been told that data is the new oil. But let’s be clear: your creativity, your joy, your mental health, that’s what they’re drilling for. You post, they profit. You create, they control.

It’s no accident that most platforms don’t let your message reach your people unless you pay. They designed it this way. The people with the power to inspire, to challenge, to change the world are throttled unless they play the game, the casino…Zuck’s casino.

This is the moment we flip the script. This is the moment we reclaim our value. And this is the moment that we rediscover our infinite value in the world.

And the funny thing is that evil always destroys itself.  And musicians will rise and speak truth to power again in a way that the world has never seen. Because this time, 8 is here to supercharge their voices, and the 8 technology has been built to elevate, share, and give control to artists – and all people. And this new world is so much more entertaining than the social feeds of the past.

Meta actually means ‘dead’ in Hebrew. I am surprised Zuck didn’t do a quick Google search of that before he renamed a company that now has a market cap of 1.7 Trillion dollars. But like every David and Goliath story that has come before, Meta has an achilles heel. And that is their obsession with power, control and greed: no matter what the cost to people and society.

The winners in the new world of 8? Well, everyone: every artist, every musician, every community, charity, publisher, sports team, brand and person. Everyone standing together and breaking free. Because I speak on behalf of all the artists I know, we’ve had enough of the control, the trolls and of working for you for free.

As the band Queen said: “I want to break free”. And now is the time to do it.

Zoe Kalar is the founder and CEO of the social media platform WeAre8.

WeAre8 has announced 8Fest, a three-day virtual event hailed as the world’s first social media music festival. Running from July 11-13, the algorithm-free festival is dedicated to pure music discovery, with lineups curated by industry insiders and a mission to spotlight fresh talent on a global stage.

Download the WeAre8 app today to follow 8fest and be a part of the future of social media.

Britain is a ‘powder keg’ of tensions which could ignite, report warns

The UK is a “powder keg” of social tensions which could easily ignite once again, a major report has warned a year after riots erupted across the country, sparked by the Southport knife attacks that killed three young girls.

One in three adults, the equivalent of 15 million people, say they rarely or never meet people from different backgrounds, according to the findings of research into the nation’s community strength and cohesion.

It also found that up to seven in 10 have never met or interacted with local asylum seekers amid polarised debate on immigration, struggles with the cost of living and declining trust in politicians.

Sir Sajid Javid and former Labour MP Jon Cruddas, who are chairing the new Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion, said the report shows “clear evidence” that societal bonds are under growing pressure.

Without action, the “very basis of our democracy is at risk”, they warned.

“This is leaving our society more fragmented, fragile, and less resilient to internal and external threats,” they said.

“At the same time, forces driving division are intensifying: political polarisation is deepening and trust in institutions is declining, while mounting economic pressures – particularly the cost of living crisis – are fuelling widespread frustration, intensified by a widespread belief that immigration policy is in chaos.

“These trends are inextricably entwined – narrowing the space for constructive dialogue and increasing the risk of further unrest and alienation.”

It comes after last summer when far-right riots broke out in towns and cities across the country, with hotels housing asylum seekers targeted.

The unrest was triggered after misinformation spread on social media claiming the attacker who launched a knife rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed children’s dance class on 29 July, killing three girls, was a Muslim asylum seeker.

The perpetrator was later revealed to be 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, who was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents who were Christians.

The State of Us report, by independent think tank British Future and the Belong Network, described the clashes as the result of a “tinderbox of long-term social pressures” which remain unaddressed.

“Without urgent action, unrest risks being reignited,” the report said.

“We saw what that can look like in the disorder of last summer. Attacks on visible minorities and people seeking asylum marked the UK’s worst targeted violence in a generation.

“High streets, businesses and community spaces were damaged or destroyed and people fought the police in the streets.”

The survey of 2,243 UK adults and eight focus groups (with a total of 71 participants) held around the UK, including in areas that faced riots, showed that concern around immigration is the top reason for tensions within local communities.

Around half (49 per cent) of respondents believe that divisions between locals and those who have migrated to the UK, including refugees and asylum seekers, are negatively affecting how well people from different backgrounds can get along in their area.

But the majority of people (67 per cent) say that they have never met or interacted with asylum seekers in their local area, or are unsure if they have.

Divisions over migration were ranked more negatively than religious, ethnic, political and wealth-related divides.

One in three adults say they rarely or never have the opportunity to meet people from different backgrounds.

Financial security plays a part in this – half of people believe that they don’t have enough money to go and meet people in common spaces, like cafes or pubs.

During last year’s riots, tensions over asylum seekers were central to fanning flames of violence, as misinformation about the identity of the killer was viewed over 420,000 times on social media at the time, an investigation by The Independent found.

This resulted in attacks on asylum hotels and incitement of violence online, with subsequent arrests of people including Lucy Connolly, wife of a Tory councillor, who was jailed for 31 months over a tweet.

This lack of awareness extends further, as 4 in 10 people do not even know if asylum seekers are being housed in their local area, the survey reveals.

The survey also found that although eight in 10 people still believe that people from different backgrounds get along well in their area, this has gone down in the past few years.

Those in the most deprived areas are least likely to say that different backgrounds get along (69 per cent), compared to 90 per cent in the most affluent areas.

A map of the data in different local authorities shows that a higher perceived lack of social cohesion is recorded in areas in the north, particularly near Manchester and Leeds, in addition to areas east of London.

Cohesion between people of different backgrounds is perceived to be worst in Boston, at just 59 per cent; 21 points below the national average.

The town was home to racially-motivated riots over two decades ago following the 2004 Euros, a Brexit stronghold, and elected Reform MP Richard Tice.

MasterChef presenter John Torode accused of racism in Wallace report

MasterChef presenter John Torode has confirmed he has been accused of using racist language, in an allegation that was upheld as part of a review into the behaviour of co-presenter Gregg Wallace.

The report, commissioned by MasterChef production company Banijay and led by law firm Lewis Silkin, found 45 out of 83 allegations against Wallace were substantiated, alongside two standalone allegations made against other people, including one for using racist language.

In a post on Instagram, Torode confirmed he was the person alleged to have used racist language but said he had “no recollection of the incident” and was “shocked and saddened” by the allegation.

His statement said: “Following publication of the Executive Summary of the investigation into Gregg Wallace while working on MasterChef, I am aware of speculation that I am one of the two other individuals against whom an allegation has been upheld.

“For the sake of transparency, I confirm that I am the individual who is alleged to have used racial language on one occasion. The allegation is that I did so sometime in 2018 or 2019, in a social situation, and that the person I was speaking with did not believe that it was intended in a malicious way and that I apologised immediately afterwards.

“I have absolutely no recollection of any of this, and I do not believe that it happened. However, I want to be clear that I’ve always had the view that any racial language is wholly unacceptable in any environment. I’m shocked and saddened by the allegation as I would never wish to cause anyone any offence.”

Reports in The Sun said Torode had been asked to leave the show and claim he had mental health issues following the allegation.

It comes as Gregg Wallace apologised for causing “distress” after the MasterChef report substantiated 45 allegations against him.

Hours before the findings of the investigation were revealed on Monday, the host, who has been dropped by the BBC, said that he “never set out to harm or humiliate” anyone with his behaviour.

“For eight months, my family and I have lived under a cloud,” Wallace, 60, he said hitting out at the BBC for “exposing” him to “trial by media fuelled by rumour and clickbait”.

Wallace faced multiple accusations, including claims that he made inappropriate sexual jokes, asked for the phone numbers of female production staff, and behaved unprofessionally around female colleagues on set.

In November 2024, the show’s production company, Banijay UK, announced that Wallace, 60, would step away from his role on MasterChef while historical allegations of misconduct were investigated.

The report noted that during the course of the investigation, which was over a seven-month period, Wallace was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, and said that the findings should be viewed in the context of his neurodiversity.

In his statement, Wallace added: “I’m relieved that the Banijay report fully recognises that my behaviour changed profoundly in 2018. Some of my humour and language missed the mark. I never set out to harm or humiliate. I always tried to bring warmth and support to MasterChef, on screen and off.

“After nearly 20 years on the show, I now see that certain patterns, shaped by traits I’ve only recently begun to understand, may have been misread. I also accept that more could have been done, by others and by myself, to address concerns earlier.

“A late autism diagnosis has helped me understand how I communicate and how I’m perceived. I’m still learning.”

He praised the show’s production company, Banijay, saying they had “given me great support, and I thank them”.

The former greengrocer added: “There will be more casualties if the BBC continues down this path, where protecting its legacy matters more than protecting people. For my part, with full legal support, I will consider my next move.”

Banijay UK said that “Wallace’s return to MasterChef (is) untenable” following the number of sustained allegations.

Patrick Holland, chief executive of Banijay UK, said that while the report “makes for uncomfortable reading”, it also provided “valuable insight to ensure that going forward everyone working on our productions feels safe and supported, and that inappropriate behaviour is quickly and professionally dealt with”.

The BBC also said it has “informed” Wallace that it has “no plans to work with him in future”, adding in a statement: “This behaviour falls below the values of the BBC and the expectations we have for anyone who works with or for us.

“Although the full extent of these issues were not known at the relevant time, opportunities were missed to address this behaviour, both by the production companies running MasterChef and the BBC. We accept more could and should have been done sooner.”

The BBC also addressed the future of a series of MasterChef filmed last year which has not yet been aired, saying it had not made a final decision on broadcasting it.

Last year, a BBC News investigation revealed a string of allegations of inappropriate sexual comments and alleged inappropriate behaviour against Wallace by 13 people who worked with him across a range of shows over a 17-year period, including former Newsnight host Kirsty Wark.

A statement from Wallace’s lawyers at the time said that it “is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”, as reported by BBC News.

Ahead of the official publishing of the external review, Wallace claimed in an Instagram post on July 8, which appears to have been taken down, that he had been cleared of the “most serious and sensational accusations” against him.