Modern Life Is Goodish episode revolved around the 'cancelled' MasterChef host

Dave Gorman has been forced to drop an episode of his Modern Life Is Goodish comeback because it revolved around Gregg Wallace.

The comedian dedicated much of his last live tour to his ‘fascinated bewilderment’ about the former MasterChef host’s rise to fame and his role fronting Inside The Factory.

It is understood that a version of the routine formed the bulk of one of the four new episodes Gorman recorded for U&Dave last year, making the show’s return after a seven-year hiatus.

However, Wallace was dropped by the BBC after allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate comments surfaced, giving the routine an unwelcome new context.

When the broadcaster announced earlier this month that the new series will air from February 24, it stated only three episodes would air.

The British Comedy Guide today reveals that was because of the material about Wallace, who has denied any inappropriate behaviour. 

A spokesperson for U&Dave told the site: ‘We felt that footage filmed with Gregg Wallace was no longer tonally appropriate to include in the series.’

Instead, two segments of the lost episode that do not revolve around the presenter will be released as standalone shorts on the U streaming platform: a 14-minute called Kicked In The Balls and one of the comedian’s famed ‘found poems’, compiled from internet comments, entitled Space Race.

In his stand-up, Gorman describes the grocer-turned-television presenter as ‘a six-year-old in man's clothing’ with one fan writing on social media that a lengthy routine in his last tour was less a celebration of the host than ‘fascinated bewilderment’ about him.

When the allegations surfaced before Christmas, another fan wrote on Threads: ‘I just feel bad that Dave Gorman had a perfect comedy show that is pretty much ruined now'

Modern Life Is Goodish originally ran for five series from 2013 to 2017, attracting up to 1.5 million viewers per episode before the surprise comeback was announced last year.

Published: 16 Feb 2025