BBC presenter Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from MasterChef while complaints from 13 people about historical allegations of misconduct including alleged inappropriate 𝑠e𝑥ual comments and jokes are investigated, it was revealed today.
Wallace, 60, is ‘committed to fully cooperating throughout the process’, the show’s production company Banijay UK said.
Already recorded episodes of MasterChef: The Professionals, which is currently on BBC One and featuring Wallace, will transmit as planned into December.
Banijay has not revealed the nature of the allegations, but last month it was claimed the grocer turned TV star had boasted about his 𝑠e𝑥 life to a younger female BBC employee and took his top off in front of her.
Mr Wallace is yet to comment today – but at the time of the announcement this afternoon he did take to Instagram to share his recipe for prawn tacos with pineapple salsa.
In October Gregg vehemently denied that he had made inappropriate 𝑠e𝑥ual comments towards women, declaring that he would never ‘flirt with’ or ‘hit on’ another woman and: ‘I didn’t say anything 𝑠e𝑥ual’.
In a statement to the PA news agency, Banijay UK said: ‘This week the BBC received complaints from individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with presenter Gregg Wallace on one of our shows.
‘Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate.
‘While this review is underway, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully cooperating throughout the process.
‘Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set.
‘Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.’
The statement added: ‘If anyone would like to talk to us or raise any issues or concerns, then they can contact [email protected] in confidence.’
The BBC has said it takes any issues that are raised with it ‘seriously’.
A BBC spokesperson said: ‘We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them.
‘We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.
‘Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them.’
In October Mr Wallace admitted he was feeling stressed amid allegations he made inappropriate 𝑠e𝑥ual comments towards women – and his fellow judge John Torode’s wife alleged he ‘repeatedly told rude jokes’ on set.
Wallace took to Instagram with a live video as he offered tips on healthy eating while also alluding to new allegations made against him this week.
He told viewers he was ‘a little bit distracted at the moment’, but said he ‘wanted to check in and say hello’.
His social media riposte came as it emerged his MasterChef co-host John Torode’s wife Lisa Faulkner would think, ‘I don’t want to hear this’, as he apparently delivered punchlines to crew of the BBC’s flagship cookery show.
Faulkner, 52, appeared on the series in 2010 where she went on to win the Celebrity MasterChef trophy – and has opened up about her time on the show.
Brookside and Holby City star Faulkner told the Cheltenham Literature Festival how she would overhear the former greengrocer’s jokes as she was prepping her dishes.
She said: ‘Gregg was telling – I’m probably not allowed to say this…Gregg just told rude joke after rude joke to the crew.
‘You’re just sitting there and if you’re on the front bench just chopping away thinking, “I’ve got ten minutes left”, and he’s saying, “So this girl walked into a bar…”
‘And I’m going, “Please, I don’t want to hear this joke”.’
Her husband John, 59, who was also on stage with her to promote their new book, told her: ‘It’s changed quite a lot really…’
Gregg, 60, absolutely denied claims he boasted about his 𝑠e𝑥 life to a younger female BBC employee and took his top off in front of her while filming a game show – saying he would never ‘flirt with’ or ‘hit on’ another woman.
Bosses at the corporation are said to have hauled the MasterChef co-host into a meeting in 2018 following allegations of ‘inappropriate 𝑠e𝑥ual comments’ and told him to ‘change his behaviour’.
An insider claims Gregg brushed it off as ‘just banter’, having been reported for making ‘consistent inappropriate comments’ to the member of the production team while working on game show Impossible Celebrities.
But taking to Instagram, Wallace hit back at the allegations in an emotional video saying he was ‘madly in love’ with his wife Anna.
He said: ‘The story that’s hitting the newspapers was investigated promptly when it happened six years ago by the BBC.
‘And the outcome of that was that I hadn’t said anything 𝑠e𝑥ual. I’ll need to repeat this again. I didn’t say anything 𝑠e𝑥ual.
‘Despite what the newspapers are suggesting nobody six years ago accused me of flirting with anybody or hitting on anybody.
‘And the reason I say this is because of my wife Anna. I have always been true to my wife Anna and have never flirted or hit on anybody in the 12 years [since] I met her and fell in love with her.
‘And it’s important that, so that people don’t misunderstand that, that I am true to my wife.’
Wallace, who has previously spoken of losing 5st with an exercise regime, told viewers: ‘I’ve had a fair bit of stress over the last few days, but my healthy lifestyle choices have stayed the same because that’s my lifestyle. That’s what I do without thinking’.
‘Does that make sense to people? I really, really hope it does. I’m a little bit distracted at the moment, you can probably tell.’
Wallace went on to say: ‘There are so many benefits of upping your levels of activity, so many healthy benefits.
‘I’m not going to mention the newspapers at the moment – I’ve got that coming at me left, right and centre.’
He also responded to commenters including one who spoke of loving chocolate buttons, with Wallace saying: ‘Chocolate buttons are lovely – right now, that sugar hit, I get it. I understand.’
But he added: ‘I really like a mango. I really like a pineapple. I really like a bowl of blueberries. And fruit isn’t full of sugar and fat. Here’s the saying – love food that loves you back.’
The TV presenter then signed off by saying: ‘I’ve got a really, really busy day – I wanted to check in and say hello.
‘If you want to make a difference to your life, really consider the choices you make.’
The allegations of inappropriate comments have only now emerged amid the BBC this week launching a probe into workplace culture as bosses aim to crack down on the ‘abuse of power’.
The insider who made the claims against Wallace, which his team says are ‘inaccurate’, raised questions as to why he was allowed to continue presenting MasterChef.
They told the Sun: ‘He is said to have been boasting about his 𝑠e𝑥 life with his partner at the time.
At one point, Wallace was also accused of taking his top off in front of the woman which felt inappropriate.
The team working on the show were said to have gone to BBC bosses to complain after being left ‘mortified’ by Wallace’s alleged behaviour.
A spokesman for the BBC told The Sun: ‘Whilst we do not comment on individuals, if issues are raised they are dealt with swiftly and appropriately at the time.
‘We do not tolerate any form of inappropriate behaviour and have robust processes in place.’
It was previously reported by the Times back in May last year that he had allegedly offended female staff members at the Nestlé UK factory in York with comments about their weight during a ‘friendly’ conversation.
Wallace then denied that he left the BBC show Inside The Factory in March that year due to inappropriate comments made towards female staff.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain in August 2023, the called the claims ‘inaccurate’.
The newspaper had quoted a source as saying: ‘He was rude towards staff and continued to talk in a derogatory manner, especially to women.’
The comments were reportedly non-𝑠e𝑥ual but deemed ‘inappropriate’ and a complaint was lodged with Voltage TV, the production company responsible for developing the show.
When asked on GMB by Richard Madeley about his departure from the programme, Wallace responded by saying: ‘There was an argument inside the factory, the reporting isn’t accurate.
‘There was an issue and I thought this is the perfect time to come out.’
‘Offending people? No, no – if you look at the headlines, you can’t see a story that matches those headlines.’
Gregg also revealed that he also wanted to leave to help care for his son Sid, born in 2019, who is autistic.
Explaining his home situation, he said: ‘I’ve got a little boy called Sid who at the moment is non-verbal, he is still in nappies, he’s got learning difficulties. Mum needed help there.’
He revealed that the demanding nature of the filming around the different factories across the country meant that it made sense to give it up.
Wallace added: ‘It’s completely inaccurate, I didn’t challenge it. There was an issue, I don’t want to discuss the issue but it wasn’t what the papers said it was.
‘There was nothing offensive to anybody that’s just people guessing. It was a decent time to come out, I think.’
Wallace wed Anne-Marie Sterpini, 22 years younger than him, at Hever Castle in Kent in August 2016, having met three years earlier.
