She’s a tough food critic who sensationally quit I’m A Celeb after reaching breaking point in camp.
Now Grace Dent, 51, is set to replace Greg Wallace on MasterChef after he stepped back following 20 years on the show while an investigation into alleged inappropriate behaviour takes place.
Dent will judge the upcoming 20th series of Celebrity MasterChef, having appeared regularly as a guest and then even a contestant on MasterChef: Battle Of The Critics in 2022.
Wallace has faced a series of complaints about his alleged behaviour, including claims he made inappropriate sexual jokes, shared intimate details of his sex life and even walked around set naked except for a penis on his sock.
Author and podcaster Dent’s takeover from Wallace was first reported last week, with a source telling the Sun that Dent is seen as ‘the perfect choice’ for the show.
In 2022, she extraordinarily quit I’m A Celeb after ‘losing all her energy’ in camp and reaching breaking point ahead of doing another Bushtucker Trial.
Prior to her jungle entrance, the food critic revealed she would be ‘strong and resilient’ in camp due to her past tragedies.
Dent shed light on her personal life, as she revealed she has lost both her parents over the past ‘four or five years’ and confessed she believes her loss would make her stronger on the show.
Grace Dent, 51, will judge the upcoming 20th series of Celebrity MasterChef with John Torode
In 2022, Dent extraordinarily quit I’m A Celeb after ‘losing all her energy’ in camp and reaching breaking point ahead of doing another Bushtucker Trial
Gregg Wallace has faced a series of complaints about his alleged behaviour over the years
The star admitted she had ‘been through a really difficult time’ after she was a carer for her dementia-stricken father before he passed away while she later lost her mother to cancer within that short space of time.
She said: ‘This is going to be a big challenge and now I am older, life is for living and it’s one of the reasons why I said yes.’
Dent has spoken publicly about her parents and in in 2020, she wrote in The Guardian about her father’s battle with dementia, penning: ‘There is so much I want to say to Dad, but I can’t bring myself to…
‘Dementia is really awkward, not just painful and frightening, embarrassing, I don’t like to be left alone with Dad. But sometimes I can see terror in his eyes…
‘Sometimes, as Dad talks nowadays, midway through a nonsensical sentence his brain catches up, and right then, he understands the total ridiculousness of what he is saying, and pure shame passes across his face.’
Dent was born and raised by her parents in Carlisle and went on to pursue further education at Stirling University, bagging herself an English Literature degree in the process.
During her time at university, Dent kicked off her journalism career, writing features for Cosmopolitan, according to The Sun.
Dent will judge the upcoming 20th series of Celebrity MasterChef, having appeared regularly as a guest and even contestant on MasterChef: Battle Of The Critics in 2022
Dent previously revealed she has lost both her parents in a short space of time
The star was a carer for her dementia-stricken father before he passed away while she later lost her mother to cancer within that short space of time (pictured with her father)
Author and podcaster Dent’s takeover from Wallace was first reported last week, with a source telling the Sun that Dent is seen as ‘the perfect choice’ for the show
Dent presents an award during The British Podcast Awards 2021 at Brockwell Park in London
After leaving full-time education, she had quite the illustrious writing career, working as an editorial assistant for Vogue, and then a freelance journalist for various magazines such as Marie Claire, Glamour and more.
She also spent 12 years, from 2000 until 2012 writing about all things TV, before making her way to The Independent.
For six years she wrote a restaurant column dubbed ‘Grace and Flavour’, for The Evening Standard.
Dent has often appeared on various TV shows critiquing people’s plates; you may have seen her appear in MasterChef: The Professionals, Celebrity MasterChef, MasterChef UK.
She was also a judge on a BBC program called the Great British Menu.
The star has also appeared on an array of shows including, The Apprentice: You’re Fired, The Now Show on Radio 4, Have I Got News For You, Very British Problems.
The food critic has also featured on Pointless Celebrities, The Review Show Film 2012, Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe, The Culture Show and Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled.
Foodie Dent has also penned numerous novels over the years, and was even on the shortlist for the Queen of Teen prize in 2008.
Amongst her books series’ for teenage audiences include Diary of a Snob, Diary of a Chav and LBD.
She published her first non-fiction novel named How To Leave Twitter (My Time as Queen of the Universe and Why This Must Stop) in 2011.
Dent had previously vowed never to take part in I’m A Celeb, describing the show as ‘a puerile venture into starvation, televised constipation and animal cruelty, abbreviated by ads for Iceland £1 curries’.
Prior to her jungle entrance, the food critic revealed she would be ‘strong and resilient’ in camp due to her past tragedies
Dent was born and raised by her parents in Carlisle and went on to pursue further education at Stirling University
A source close to the MasterChef star told MailOnline: ‘Grace decided to leave the jungle soon after it was announced that she would be doing the latest Bushtucker Trial.
‘Knowing that she would be facing another tough challenge was the straw that broke the camel’s back.’
They continued: ‘It was mutually agreed upon that she would stand down from the competition, it was clear that she wasn’t being herself, she had lost all energy when usually she’s witty and fun to be around.
‘ITV’s duty of care and welfare teams had stepped in, and rightly so.
‘She had struggled since living in the camp with less amenities, the weather this year has been particularly miserable and as a restaurant critic, not eating well proved to be harder than she could have ever imagined.
‘Grace is looking forward to seeing her loved ones now and after a few days of rest and recovery will be fine.’