Grace Dent has been confirmed as the new host of MasterChef, replacing Gregg Wallace, who has stepped away from the BBC show while an investigation into alleged inappropriate behavior takes place.
The food critic, 51, earned her place alongside John Torode after a 30-year career in journalism, books, podcasts and television, capped by a memorable stint on I’m A Celeb a year ago.
Away from her illustrious career, Grace enjoys an idyllic relationship with her “handsome” partner Charles, who is not pictured.
The couple got engaged in 2021 after two years together, and the star admitted in an interview shortly after the proposal how in love she was with her boyfriend.
‘With my man, Charles, almost every day, every time I look at him, I think, “How did I achieve this?” admitted on Kate Thornton’s podcast, Question time about white wine.
“Because before we got together, I used to follow him on Instagram, and he followed me and there were at least 24 months where I used to look at his picture and say, ‘He’s so pretty.’
Grace Dent has been confirmed as the new presenter of MasterChef and away from her illustrious career, Grace is enjoying an idyllic relationship with her ‘handsome’ partner Charles
Detailing how the pair met, Grace explained how the pair first “flirted” for a year and a half online while “we were both wasting time with other lesser beings.”
‘I was in Liverpool working and I was feeling really miserable. And I got this message from him that he’d like to take me out for coffee and that was it!’
But Grace added that she was the one who would take the lead on their first date, telling Charles that she would be at a bar at a certain time and that he should go see her if he was interested, which he did.
‘It was absolutely beautiful. I saw him on the other side of the bar. And it’s one thing to show up when someone is not at all the person they said, God, that happens.’
“But then what’s almost worse (no, it’s not worse, but it’s similar) is when you show up and the person is the person. And you’re like, ‘Oh, here we go.’ Here we go. Here is my heart, to be dragged and thrown against a wall from 25 feet! Kill me now!”‘
In 2022, Grace, who lives in London, revealed that she and Charles live in separate homes, explaining in her column for The Standard: “I apparently live alone because my partner, Charlie, and I have separate homes, however, the reality is who is in my damn house most of the time, making a mess, eating food from my refrigerator, and being waited on.
During the same podcast conversation, Grace also opened up about her nine years of marriage, explaining that after the split: “I felt like between 2002 and 2011 I had missed that stage where everything had gone digital… you realize that no one is making appointments like they used to.
The writer has never spoken in depth about her marriage or identified her ex, but she did admit that she still has her wedding dress and wears it again.
The couple got engaged in 2021 after two years together, and the star admitted in an interview shortly after the proposal how in love she was with her boyfriend.
Detailing how the pair met, Grace explained how the pair first “flirted” for a year and a half online while “we were both wasting time with other lesser beings.”
‘I still have the dress I got married in. I’m no longer married to him. But I still have that dress,” she told The Mirror.
‘We had just had a very informal marriage, we got married in Las Vegas and I still have the dress. I love the dress, this is the problem! I still have that dress and I can’t give it away.
‘It’s a T-shaped dress with a turquoise print and it’s exactly the color I love. It is fitted at the waist and flattering. (…) And you can put it on and look like a million dollars.”
“And sometimes I wonder if my ex-husband, watching TV one night, casually eating Pop Tarts, looks at me and says, ‘Is that the dress she was wearing?’ “I’m sure I know that dress.”
Grace has been very open about not wanting to have children, writing in The Guardian: “I like children.” It’s just not enough. This still seems like a radical thing for a woman to do.
And the kids like me too. I have a great capacity for being silly, plus I look like some kind of clay witch, which they find intriguing. But I never really wanted one.
Grace’s off-screen life in recent years has been marred by heartbreak after she lost her parents in the past five years.
In 2022, Grace, who lives in London, revealed that she and Charles live in separate houses, explaining in her column for The Standard: “I live apparently alone.”
The food critic, 51, earned her place alongside John Torode after a 30-year career in journalism, books, podcasts and television, capped by a memorable stint on I’m A Celeb a year ago.
Ahead of her stint on I’m A Celeb in 2023, she admitted she believed her loss would make her stronger on the show, explaining how she had “gone through a really tough time” after being a carer for her affected father. for dementia. he passed away while she later lost her mother to cancer.
Grace has spoken publicly about her parents and, in 2020, wrote in The Guardian about her father’s battle with dementia, writing: ‘There are so many things I want to say to dad, but I can’t bring myself to…
‘Dementia is really uncomfortable, not only painful and scary, but embarrassing; I don’t like being alone with dad. But sometimes I can see terror in his eyes…
“Sometimes as Dad talks these days, midway through a nonsensical sentence his brain catches up and in that moment he realizes the utter ridiculousness of what he’s saying and pure embarrassment shows up on his face.”