Sitwell said he eventually involved the police after the situation alarmed his wife at home.
“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,” he said.
Why his criticism has sometimes caused trouble
Sitwell has appeared on MasterChef for more than a decade and is one of the BBC cooking show’s familiar guest judges. His job, on television and in print, often means being direct about food, service and chefs’ decisions. That is not a profession built around cushioning every sentence in velvet.
Earlier this year, he told The Telegraph that he has been “savage” as a critic at times, but admitted he has also had to face criticism himself.
“I always said negative reviews should be met with a cool head, not an explosive reaction,” he said. “Unfortunately, I did not practise what I preached.”
That admission adds a little perspective to the story. Critics can wound, chefs can bristle, and most people manage not to escalate the matter into ominous voicemails. That last part remains the important one.
How Sitwell fits into the wider MasterChef world
Across his time on MasterChef, Sitwell has worked alongside several major figures from the franchise, including former hosts Gregg Wallace and John Torode.
The show has also gone through a period of change around its presenting line-up. In April, it emerged that Wallace had returned to the food world after leaving MasterChef in 2024 following allegations of inappropriate behaviour behind the scenes.
Wallace, 61, announced a new cooking project called Gregg’s Kitchen, a 12-hour TikTok live cooking show that aired on April 5.
What happened with Matt Tebbutt?
The wider MasterChef universe shifted again last month when Matt Tebbutt, who replaced Wallace on MasterChef: The Professionals in September 2025, said he would not be returning for the next series of the spin-off.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme, Tebbutt was asked by presenter Jaega Wise how difficult the exit had been.
“It was, yes, of course it is,” he said. “I mean, 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.”
For viewers, the thread running through all of this is less about kitchen drama and more about the pressure that comes with public work. Sitwell’s story shows the darker edge of being paid to judge, while the recent MasterChef changes show how quickly the people around a familiar TV format can change, even when the brand itself keeps rolling on.
