{"id":362613,"date":"2025-08-21T17:41:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T17:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/362613\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T17:41:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T17:41:11","slug":"itv-boss-on-john-torode-weekend-kitchen-masterchef-bbc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/362613\/","title":{"rendered":"ITV Boss On John Torode Weekend Kitchen, ‘MasterChef’ & BBC"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tAfter the MasterChef scandal which saw the sacking of presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode, Torode\u2019s Weekend Kitchen series remained on ITV<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tQuestioned over this decision at the Edinburgh<\/a> TV Festival today, ITV Content boss Kevin Lygo<\/a> said he \u201cfelt it was a bit much for us to jump on the bandwagon and just deny these shows to go out.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe didn\u2019t know the details,\u201d he added, before clarifying that Weekend Kitchen was pre-recorded. \u201cWe asked the producers if they had heard of any incidences [of bad behavior from Torode] and they said no.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tLygo refused to say whether he would have continued airing the MasterChef season featuring Wallace and Torode once they had been sacked, a move that the BBC made. \u201cYou never know the full story of what has gone on,\u201d he added. \u201cI think the BBC are capable of making that judgement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe BBC\u2019s decision to air MasterChef has come in for criticism but ITV\u2019s move to keep Torode\u2019s John and Lisa\u2019s Weekend Kitchen on air has been less scrutinized.<\/p>\n

\n\tTorode was sacked after an independent report initially examining allegations against Wallace upheld a complaint against him for use of racial language, which was reported to have been the \u2018n word\u2019. Torode has apologized but denied the incident took place. <\/p>\n

\n\tEdinburgh is a \u201cvery BBC-focused event at times\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tElsewhere, Lygo took aim at the BBC during a traditionally combative Edinburgh Spotlight session while simultaneously making the case for ITV to be given more credit at big industry get-togethers like Edinburgh.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOften we are forgotten as a proper public service broadcaster but we do everything from global warming documentaries to Got Talent,\u201d he said. [Edinburgh is] a very BBC-focused event at times.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLygo cited as exemplar last night\u2019s MacTaggart lecture from ex-BBC News chief James Harding, who focused on the BBC and keeping it free from political interference.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI get that the MacTaggart was about the BBC but ITV News was not mentioned, [ITV news maker] ITN was not mentioned, Channel 4 News was not mentioned and Sky News was not mentioned.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tLygo took aim at the BBC for pleading poverty and refusing to commission a full season of hit format The Assembly. The BBC aired a The Assembly one-off last year but we revealed soon<\/a> after that ITV was taking it to full series.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen session host Scott Bryan told Lygo the BBC didn\u2019t take it to series because the corporation had already signed off its budget, Lygo responded: \u201cOh poor BBC, they have so little money.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe then joked that the BBC \u201cspent it all on Gossip Girl,\u201d an American show that the BBC acquired in 2021.<\/p>\n

\n\tLygo also found time to criticize Channel 4 content boss Ian Katz for claiming Channel 4\u2019s rivals have become \u201ctimid\u201d <\/a>and fallen back on reboots.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI suppose they do have Bake Off, Location, Location, Location and Taskmaster,\u201d Lygo joked, referencing a number of Channel 4 shows that were not original ideas.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI don\u2019t know what he\u2019s on about,\u201d added Lygo of Katz. \u201cAll our ideas are pretty new.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGary Lineker<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tAnother ex-BBC talent shifting over to ITV is Gary Lineker for new format The Box<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tLygo said the former Match of the Day host, who left the BBC under a cloud after reposting an anti-semitic image, is \u201can interesting person to present a show like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s an outdoors-set show so that suited him and it\u2019s quite fresh to have Gary,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\n\tPushed on the recent news that YouTube is now watched by more people in the UK than ITV, Lygo said this hadn\u2019t come as a surprise and the metrics are different.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIts sort of like saying Freeview has more viewers than BBC One,\u201d he said of the stat. \u201cYouTube is a platform. It\u2019s not a direct competitor to a broadcaster.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLygo was speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival<\/a> on the same day as his opposite numbers at the BBC and Sky. It has been a heated fest, with Channel 4 and Netflix trading blows over hit series Adolescence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After the MasterChef scandal which saw the sacking of presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode, Torode\u2019s Weekend Kitchen…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362614,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3937],"tags":[1102,102997,77,208,127248,382,78521,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-362613","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-edinburgh","9":"tag-edinburgh-tv-festival","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-itv","12":"tag-kevin-lygo","13":"tag-tv","14":"tag-tv-markets","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115067989849836688","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}