John Torode reveals he and Gregg Wallace ‘have their moments’ in their 30-year friendship

They first met back in 1991 in London when the Australian native worked in a restaurant while his pal was a fruit and vegetable distributor.

And 31 years later, MasterChef stars John Torode and Gregg Wallace have remained close friends, with the duo knowing each other ‘so well’ that they’re even able to sense if something id wrong with the other.

In a candid new interview, John, 56, opened up on their strong bond, but admit they ‘have their moments’ as he detailed their 6am phone calls, being ‘honest’ and accepting each others weaknesses.

As he discussed his upcoming new show John Torode’s Ireland with The Times, talk soon turned to John’s long-standing relationship with pal Gregg, 57, whom he’s fronted MasterChef with for 18 years.

And while things are all good between the pair, John couldn’t help but point out that Gregg’s early morning phone calls have become a bone of contention between the pair.

He explained: ‘We know each other so well. But that’s not to say we don’t have our moments. With Gregg my issue is the 6am phone calls.

‘Last time it happened I wasn’t very happy and I said, “Gregg, mate, it’s 6am.” And he said, “But you’re on my list!” That’s the thing with Gregg, he gets up very early and his whole life is diarised and run on lists.’

John went on to recall sensing a ‘disturbance in the force’ the next time he saw his co-star, noting that he knew ‘there was something wrong’.

But after pressing his pal on his issue, Gregg admitted that he was disgruntled that John wasn’t  ‘very nice to me’ during their previous phone call.’

However, the pair were able to swiftly move on from their minor tiff, with John crediting the truce to the pair’s ability to be completely ‘honest ‘ with each other and knowing when to accept any flaws with each other.

He explained: ‘We talked it out. We are honest with each other. In the end, you have to learn to accept each other’s foibles. Gregg is incredibly organised. You have to allow the relationship to grow.’

With their successful friendship stemming from being able to be very frank with each other, John went on to say that they adopt that same mentality when it comes to their hugely popular BBC show, with the star noting there’s ‘absolute honesty’ between them when it comes to how they approach the programme.

He added that everything viewers see is ‘not gimmicky’ or ‘camp’, adding that everything is ‘real’ and there is no ‘backroom discussion’ on who they think should win the show.

Meanwhile, John  also enjoys another successful friendship in the form of his relationship with Lisa Faulkner.

The celebrity chefs wed in 2019 – the second time for them both after their first marriages collapsed.

And in a new interview with The Sunday Times, the culinary duo got candid about their first encounter, cooking and family, with John admitting there has been a ‘black mark’ about when the pair met.

The Australian explained how in his version of events, they’d met when Lisa was a contestant on Celebrity MasterChef back in 2010.

Yet unearthed footage from This Morning back in 1996 showed John being introduced as the new chef, while his now-wife was being interviewed on the sofa.

For London-born Lisa, their initial meet on the ITV daytime show had not escaped her memory, as she recalled complimenting one of his dishes and his brusque reply.

She regaled that she thought he was arrogant, but that soon changed when their soon-found friendship after MasterChef developed into something more.

Of how he’d been encouraged to ask the Brookside actress on a date, John divulged: ‘I’d separated from my wife [Jessica] which was awful, and I was reluctant to approach Lisa face to face as I didn’t fancy the prospect of her saying no, so I wrote her a letter.

‘If I’d got no response, it wouldn’t matter. Cowardly? S***, yeah. I’m as cowardly as they get.’

John explained that she’d agreed to a date and from there, everything fell into place, gushing that ‘we just really, really like each other.’