Grace Dent and Anna Haugh pave the way for a new MasterChef era: 'It's bigger than any one person'

In the grand scheme of things, a long-running television show about cooking should’ve felt like one of the least likely candidates for controversy, but MasterChef certainly made the headlines last year.

Following the scandalous exits of both Gregg Wallace and John Torode (Gregg was accused of inappropriate behaviour, John had allegations of using offensive language) a new era beckons - and new judges Grace Dent and Anna Haugh aren’t looking back.

“I don’t feel I am ‘picking up’ after anybody,” food critic Grace revealed in a new interview. “I’ve been going to work every day at the helm of the most important food show, probably in British television history. I think I’m doing well. Am I doing well?”

Anna Haugh - the Irish chef who joins Grace for the new series - agrees she’s doing well.

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This, taken from an interview with the Radio Times, is just a small preview of what to expect from the new era of the long-running BBC series, and the two judges are firmly on each other’s side.

"We take care of each other," Anna said. "So, if there’s a hair out of place, or lipstick needs topping up, we’ll point it out. We want each other to be lifted up."

The pair supporting one another could, arguably, be also said to have been made after both spent years in typically male-dominated fields.

Grace, who always knew she wanted to be a food critic, remembers the pioneers who essentially helped pave the path that has led her to MasterChef.

She said, "I remember seeing Eve Pollard [a former tabloid editor] sitting on the breakfast TV couch and thinking, 'Who is this woman?'. Anne Robinson and Janet Street-Porter. Jean Rook and Julie Burchill.

"Suddenly there were all these women, holding their own against the men, and they wrote columns and books and did telly and radio, and I suddenly realised that there was a job out there for women to be able to do exciting things."

Admitting that this still comes with plenty of rejection, she added, "Now if someone tells me I can’t do something, I just go home and work out who else I can ask."

Anna also had to overcome some doubt to get where she is today.

On becoming a chef, she revealed, "It took me a couple of years, but when I first walked into an empty kitchen I thought, 'I belong here.' I always say it chose me, not the other way round.

"For about 10 years, my dad used to chip away at me, as he thought it wasn’t a good choice. And then one day he said, ‘I’m sorry for giving you such a hard time. Look how successful you are, and how you have never given up.'"

Their motivation is why MasterChef fans should feel the show’s legacy is in safe hands. The pair agree that, controversies aside, the show is first and foremost about cooking.

"It’s bigger than any one person,” Anna shared, "And the contestants are brilliant. The show is a reflection of them."

MasterChef returns for series 22 on Tuesday, April 21 at 9pm on BBC One.