MasterChef star John Torode causes fire live on This Morning cooking segment

Chef inadvertently started a blaze in his kitchen as Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield looked on in shock

John Torode caused quite the scene on the latest episode of This Morning, when he accidentally set a tea towel on fire during a live cooking segment.

The MasterChef presenter appeared on Tuesday’s programme (28 April) to show Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield how to cook a McDonald’s breakfast meal.

As Torode was giving his lesson, a tea towel he had left on a lit hob was set ablaze.

“Fire!” screamed Willoughby. “Fire, John! Behind you!”

Schofield added: “Cooker! Your towel’s on fire! Behind you, John, you’re on fire!”

Torode didn’t appear to hear what the hosts were saying at first, so continued to cook calmly, before eventually spinning around and grabbing the burning tea towel. He then threw it into the sink and poured cold water on it, shouting: “Thank you! I’ll just open the back door.”

“Oh my God, are you ok?” asked Willoughby. “You were so calm!”

“Well, he didn’t know!” laughed Schofield.

Torode has four decades of experience as a chef and has written numerous cookbooks.