Why did John Torode out himself as being the subject of an upheld finding of racist language during the investigation into co-host Gregg Wallace—even though he denied the allegation? Reputational genius or career suicide?
Torode’s decision was surprising because individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy when subject to a police investigation, up to the point of being charged with an offence, and employment, disciplinary or regulatory investigations are often conducted confidentially.
We don’t know if there was a risk of leaks, or if there had been any threats from media groups or elsewhere to out him, but if Torode had not named himself, it was unlikely that he could have been named at all at that stage.
A summary of the Wallace investigation published online revealed two upheld allegations about other individuals. By outing himself, Torode chose to avoid a media guessing game—possibly learning from the 2023 Huw Edwards case. At that time, The Sun published claims about
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