Gregg

Gregg Foreman, the founder of the influential blues-punk band the Delta 72 and a longtime collaborator with Cat Power and other acts, has died. He was 53.

News of Foreman’s death on Tuesday was confirmed by Cat Power’s label, Matador Records. No cause of death was given.

Foreman, born in Philadelphia, formed the Delta 72 in Washington, D.C., in the mid-’90s, putting a soulfully-scuzzy blues twist on the city’s post-hardcore sound of the era. Foreman was a distinctly charismatic frontman, pairing the flamboyant stage presence of his beloved ‘60s and ‘70s R&B acts with the live-wire tension of punk. The band released three albums before dissolving in 2001.

For two decades, he played in Cat Power’s backing ensemble, the Dirty Delta Blues band, and became the project’s musical director. He also collaborated with Pink Mountaintops, Suicide’s Alan Vega and Martin Rev, the Gossip, Lydia Lunch and Death Valley Girls, along with singer-songwriters Lucinda Williams and Linda Perry.

Outside of his live-band career, Foreman was a prolific DJ and a deeply knowledgeable music journalist. He most recently played on Cat Power’s “Redux,” January’s three-song EP celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band’s beloved LP “The Greatest.”

Music and cultural figures like director Jim Jarmusch, Kid Congo Powers, and Cold Cave’s Wesley Eisold mourned Foreman’s death on social media. Eisold wrote on Instagram that “Like others, he bounced in and out of our lives and changed each one he visited. For better or for worse, he lived a life that others only claim to have lived and he was one of one. His love for music was as genuine as the pain he harbored.”

Former MasterChef judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode have been replaced in the latest series

Fan-favourite cooking competition MasterChef is returning for a new series on BBC One with two new judges.

Season 22 begins tonight (Tuesday, April 21), with renowned chef Anna Haugh and restaurant critic Grace Dent now at the helm, following Gregg Wallace and John Torode’s departures.

Gregg was axed from the show last year after law firm Lewis Silkin upheld 45 out of 83 complaints against the star of inappropriate behaviour. The 61-year-old said he was “deeply sorry for any distress” he caused, adding that he “never set out to harm or humiliate”.

Meanwhile, John didn’t have his contract renewed with Banijay UK – who make MasterChef – after he was alleged to have used racist language amid an investigation into his former co-star’s behaviour.

A BBC spokesperson confirmed that John denied the allegation, stating: “He has no recollection of the alleged incident and does not believe that it happened. He also says that any racial language is wholly unacceptable in any environment.”

Ahead of the new series of MasterChef airing on BBC One tonight (Tuesday, April 21) at 9pm, let’s explore where former judges Gregg and John are now.

Gregg hasn’t appeared on TV since his MasterChef axing, but recently hosted a 12-hour live cooking show on TikTok, titled Gregg’s Kitchen.

Now, the presenter has confirmed his “new chapter”, telling his Instagram followers that he will be leaving the UK for a new life in Italy by the end of this month.

Speaking in his social media video, Gregg said: “I’ve always loved Italy and we plan to move around and rent in different places, which is quite an adventure. And with the help of my autism specialist mates, I am going to home school Sid [his son] as well. It is a new chapter for us. It is a life that should be full of travel and adventure and I’m very, very much looking forward to it.”

Following his axing from MasterChef, John continued to host his ITV series, John and Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen, with his wife Lisa Faulkner.

The couple are also set to release a new cookbook in September, following the success of their first book together. John & Lisa’s Weeknight Dinners includes “delicious” recipes that can be used on repeat.

“Having cooked together for 10 series of John and Lisa’s Kitchen, they want to encourage people, more than ever, to cook from scratch with simple and fool proof recipes,” reads the official synopsis for the book.

“They use everyday supermarket ingredients, straightforward techniques and no fancy gadgets, to give people the confidence to cook and, most importantly, enjoy creating dishes for their friends and family.”

MasterChef 2026’s first heat will see six talented cooks from all walks of life competing to secure one of four gleaming white MasterChef aprons. The first two will be awarded to those who impress Anna and Grace with their Signature Dish.

The other four will have one more chance to shine as they fight it out for the last two aprons, taking on the Classic Recipe Test. The successful cooks will then have another hurdle to jump to secure their quarter-final place, as they aim to impress last year’s finalists with two courses.

MasterChef season 22 is available to stream on BBC iPlayer

Gregg Wallace, who was sacked from Masterchef last year following an investigation into 83 historical allegations of workplace misconduct, has confirmed his “new chapter”

Former Masterchef host Gregg Wallace is leaving the UK for Italy after being forced to sell his “enormous” £1million home.

The TV chef, 61, was axed from the popular BBC programme last year after he was accused of “inappropriate behaviour”, including allegations of touching an assistant’s bum on the show. An investigation into 83 historical allegations of workplace misconduct, with 45 accusations against him subsequently upheld.

Reports emerged in October Gregg was claiming up to £10,000 in damages from the BBC and one of its subsidiaries following his axe from MasterChef. The TV presenter claimed they allegedly caused him “distress and harassment” by failing to disclose to him his personal data.

But now the presenter has confirmed his “new chapter”, telling his Instagram following he will leave the UK for Italy by the end of the month. Gregg added he will homeschool his autistic son there.

READ MORE: Grace Dent gives brutally honest response to taking over MasterChef hosting roleREAD MORE: BBC scandals in full – Scott Mills axed over historic relationship and ‘personal conduct’

Gregg’s wife, Anne-Marie Sterpini, whom he met on Twitter, is Italian. They tied the knot in 2016, four years after Gregg’s divorce to his third wife Heidi Brown.

Speaking in his social media video, Gregg said: “I’ve always loved Italy and we plan to move around and rent in different places which is quite an adventure and with the help of my autism specialist mates, I am going to homeschool Sid as well. It is a new chapter for us. It is a life that should be full of travel and adventure and I’m very very much looking forward too it.”

But the entrepreneur, who also hosted Saturday Kitchen, is also planning to buy a “much more modest”house in Yorkshire — close to where his daughter lives. He will then divide his time between Italy and Yorkshire, it is thought.

It comes after Gregg revealed earlier this month that he is selling his £1million Kent home after being left “unable to live the life he used to have”. The chef has not had a TV job since the BBC sacked him from Masterchef, a role he had held for nearly two decades.

The ex BBC star plans to sell the “enormous” home which sits on five acres of land along with its stables and pond. Gregg, who bought the home back in 2017, said he was making the move not only for a slower pace of life but also to ensure financial security for Anne-Marie, 38, and son Sid, six.

He said: “I can’t have the life I used to have but whether you chose to believe it or not, I really wanted to come out of that anyway, but obviously not in the dramatic way that I did.

“I want to ease off a little bit, I want to relax a little bit. but that also comes with wanting financial security for me and my family because I’ve got a wife that is much younger than me and a special needs little boy, Sid.”