A MasterChef star has revealed how he was forced to call the police after being stalked by a furious chef. Restaurant critic and writer William Sitwell has appeared on MasterChef for more than a decade and remains one of the show's long-standing guest judges. However, his searing critiques of chefs' dishes have not always gone down well, especially when visiting a restaurant.
Stalking ordeal
Speaking to Vanessa Feltz on her Channel 5 talk show, William revealed: 'I was stalked by a chef who sent me texts, voicemails, emails, saying 'get used to having me in the back of your mind wherever you go, you know I'm on your tail, I'm going to find you, don't walk down a street thinking you're safe', and all that sort of stuff.' He added: 'His reaction was extreme and then I actually discovered subsequently that he had a record of going after people unpleasantly.'
'I did call the police once my wife got paranoid because she saw someone in a white coat at the end of the drive and she thought it was him.'
Taste of his own medicine
Speaking to The Telegraph earlier this year, William admitted that as a critic he has been 'savage' at times, but he is now getting a 'taste of my own medicine'. He told the publication: 'I always said negative reviews should be met with a cool head, not an explosive reaction. Unfortunately, I did not practise what I preached.'
MasterChef connections
Throughout his time on the BBC cooking show, William has worked alongside a number of stars, including former hosts Gregg Wallace and John Torode. In April it was revealed that Gregg has returned to the culinary world after he left MasterChef in 2024 following allegations of inappropriate behaviour behind the scenes. The 61-year-old announced plans for a new cooking show titled Gregg's Kitchen, a 12-hour TikTok live cooking show that went live on April 5.
Last month Matt Tebbutt, who replaced Gregg in September 2025 on MasterChef: The Professionals, was told that he would not be returning for the next series of the spin-off format. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme, Matt was asked by presenter Jaega Wise about how difficult his exit from the show was. 'It was, yes, of course it is,' he said. 'I'm not going to say I wasn't upset. I was really upset. And it could have been handled a lot better. But it is what it is. You know, there's worse things going on. You've got to be pretty resilient. It's part of the game, really. I guess it's like if you're a politician, you're going to get knocks. So it's just par for the course, I think.'
