MasterChef: Battle of the Critics 2023,28-12-2023,Gregg Wallace,Shine TV,Screengrab (Image: BBC /Shine TV)
Gregg Wallace has broken his silence after he stepped down from presenting MasterChef following allegations that he made “sexual comments” by 13 colleagues.
The 60-year-old presenter thanked people for their support after he stepped away from the long-runing cooking show after 19 years on the show.
The claim 13 people, including Newsnight host Kirsty Wark, accused him of “wrong” and inappropriate “sexualised” behaviour during filming.
Gregg has been accused of taking his top off in front of a female worker, claiming he wanted to “give her a fashion show” and talking about his sex life to others.
On one occasion, the broadcaster allegedly told a junior female colleague he wasn’t wearing any boxer shorts under his jeans.
Taking to , the TV judge wrote: “I would like to thank all the people getting in touch, reach out and showing their support. That’s good of you thank you very much.”
The has revealed that 13 people have complained about his conduct while working with him over a 17-year period across five shows from 2005 to 2022.
Broadcaster Kirstie Wark claims that on two occasions, Wallace told stories and jokes of a “sexualised nature” in front of contestants and crew while filming Celebrity MasterChef in 2011. She said his comments were “really, really in the wrong place.”
She said: “There were to occasions in particular where he used sexualised language in front of a number of people and it wasn’t as it anyone engaged with this.
“It was completely one-way traffic. But I think people were uncomfortable and something that I really did not expect to happen.”
It comes after Rod Stewart accused Wallace of “humiliating” his wife Penny Lancaster when she competed on the show in 2021.
Taking to , he fumed: “Good riddance Wallace… You humiliated my wife when she was on the show, but you had that bit cut out didn’t you?
“You’re a tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully. Karma got ya.” Express.co.uk has reached out to the and a representative for Gregg Wallace for a comment.
But Rod isn’t the only person to speak out following the presenter’s exit. Scottish broadcaster Aasmah Mir shared a snap of herself during the 2017 Celebrity MasterChef series alongside a cryptic message.
She captioned the post: “Always keep your recipets.” It is not yet known if she has also complained. The claims that Wallace walked away from the culinary show today after News sent a letter to his agent on Tuesday (November 26), setting out allegations from 13 people and giving him a right to reply.
They claim he was warned afer a complaint was raised in 2018, but new historical claims have emerged over the summer of 2024.