Masterchef's Torode goes, but BBC scores reputation own goal
John Torode leaves MasterChef after 20 years co-hosting the popular TV show. Whilst his alleged comments are inexcusable, the manner of his dismissal and the way it was managed in the media has raised some serious questions and left the reputations of those involved in a quandary.
The very public (mis)handling of the John Torode case is frankly extraordinary and only heaps more pressure on the BBC in particular whose reputation and that of its director general is being seriously challenged right now.
It is worth pointing out that I do not condone any form of discriminatory language. Nor am I coming out in support of John Torode. This post will outline some serious flaws that could have significant reputational issues for all involved.
Let’s start with what happened on Tuesday.
The media widely reported Torode’s “sacking” throughout the day, but Torode posted this on his Instagram later that evening:
“I haven’t heard from anyone at the BBC or Banijay [the production company he freelanced for] – I am seeing and reading that I’ve been “sacked.”
It would seem that both Banijay and the BBC prioritised issuing statements to the media before actually confirming the details with Torode himself. This is extremely stupid from a PR perspective and shows both organisations to be reputation-first, proper-process last.
Second, the media are reporting that Torode was ‘sacked.’ He wasn’t. His contract wasn’t renewed. There is a difference.
Third, the details surrounding the allegation that Torode used “an extremely offensive racist term” are sketchy at best. Torode himself states he has “no recollection” of what he is accused of.
Moreover, neither the complainant nor the independent team of legal investigators have been able to confirm when or where the incident took place. They say it was ‘sometime’ in 2018 or 2019.
In reputation management, when managing a crisis for an individual or organisation, it is our job to deal with the facts. Yet facts appear to be missing here.
At the same time, we must remain mindful of every possible way that the facts can be interpreted by the public, the media, and all key stakeholders. That enables us to plan for and response effectively to every eventuality as much as we possibly can.
In this case, the complaint was reviewed and investigated. For it to be upheld, there needed to be evidence to support the complaint. But if neither the complainant nor the investigating team even know when the alleged comments were made, I am unclear as to how this stands up.
One must assume that Torode did indeed make a distasteful comment. That might have been dealt with differently had the plethora of allegations against his MasterChef co-host Greg Wallace not come to light.
The production company, Banijay, seems to have opted to clear the decks and start afresh with a new line-up of presenters for when the next series of MasterChef returns to our screens. That is understandable, but how they and the BBC have handled this case is embarrassing.
BBC Director General, Tim Davie, said:
“It’s really important that we are taking this seriously. It’s a reset where we make sure that people are living up to the values we expect across the board.”
Feels like we have heard something along these lines before…
