Christopher Biggins has attempted to defend sacked MasterChef host Gregg Wallace by admitting that he used to “grab women by the t***ies”.
The 76-year-old pantomime actor, who is gay, seemingly joked that his past conduct towards women would’ve landed him in “prison” if he did it today.
Biggins, who also appeared on Celebrity MasterChef in 2014, claimed that this type of misconduct was not uncommon 25 years ago and was considered “affection”.
Speaking to The Sun, he said: “Years ago, I would approach a woman from behind and grab her t***ies from the front. Well, I’m gay, so it didn’t matter. And I’d like to still be doing it, but I don’t think I can any more.
“If I were to do that now, I’d be put into prison. Twenty-five years ago, we were all doing it. It was a thing of affection.”
He continued: “Everybody is now terrified. I wouldn’t want to be a comedian. I think comedians have a really tough job.”
It comes after Biggins said at the National Reality TV Awards earlier this month that he reached out to Wallace and his family following his departure from MasterChef.
“I love Gregg and I love his wife,” he explained. “I’ve tried to get hold of her because they must be going through a terrible time, because suddenly careers are vanishing, it’s so wrong.”
The Independent has contacted Biggins’ representatives for comment.
Wallace’s position on MasterChef was deemed “untenable” last month when an investigation into historical misconduct upheld 45 of 83 allegations against the presenter, including claims of inappropriate sexual language and one incident of unwelcome physical contact.
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Meanwhile, John Torode, who had presented MasterChef alongside Wallace since 2005, was sacked just a day later, as the same report upheld a complaint against him involving “an extremely offensive racist term”.
The latest series of MasterChef, which is presented by Wallace and Torode, premiered this week. The heavily edited first three episodes were made available on BBC iPlayer and appeared to feature fewer jokes and interactions between the hosts and contestants.
Some viewers said they felt “conflicted” seeing the hosts on screen following the accusations against them. One contestant, Sarah Shafi, agreed to be edited out of the series after objecting to it being broadcast over concerns that it sent the wrong message to women.
The BBC later revealed that news about the show had an impact on ratings, as the launch show was watched by just 1.96 million, as opposed to the 2.73 million who watched last year’s debut episode. The fact that this series launched in August, rather than in the usual April slot, may also have affected the viewership.
