Gregg Wallace latest: Masterchef host says accusations come from ‘middle-class women of a certain age’ – UK Times

Former Celebrity MasterChef contestants, including former Newsnight host Kirsty Wark and Geordie Shore’s Charlotte Crosby, have since hit out at the host for alleged remarks they heard when they were filming episodes.

Now, a video of Lock, who died in 2021 at the age of 58, discussing Wallace is doing the rounds on social media in the wake of the news.

Lock, who was known for sharing his razor sharp critiques on many subjects spoke about Wallace during a segment on Channel 4 panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown that saw him tasked with choosing which celebrities should be deemed “national treasures”.

The comic went on to claim that he liked Wallace “because he’s got no sense of irony or humour”.

“Gregg Wallace was always an unlikely TV star,” writes The Independent’s TV critic Nick Hilton. “Prematurely bald, stout, and the proud wearer of thick glasses, he seemed destined for an unglamorous life amid the vegetable stalls of the capital, rather than on TV screens across the country.

“And yet, the presenter, who has stepped back from his role as a judge on MasterChef after a series of historic sexual misconduct allegations came to light, has made himself part of the furniture at the BBC. And that makes his rapid fall from grace even more troubling for the corporation, though Wallace’s lawyers say it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.”

Read Nick Hilton’s full analysis here:

The greengrocer-turned-presenter is stepping back from ‘MasterChef’ while allegations of historical misconduct are investigated. Nick Hilton looks back on his career as an unlikely TV star, which followed a tough start in life

In the latest allegations, Wallace was accused of making lewd comments and asking for the personal phone numbers of female production staff in a letter a producer and director claimed to have sent to the BBC in 2022.

The letter, posted to Instagram by Dawn Elrick on her Shit Men In TV Have Said To Me account, collected a number of anonymous reports from people who alleged they “have experienced sexism and sexual harassment within the TV industry”.

In the letter Elrick claimed to have sent to the BBC in 2022, she wrote: “I have noticed a pattern of behaviour from one person whose name has been mentioned half a dozen times.

“In connection with lude (sic) comments being made to female production members, female production being made to feel uncomfortable about being asked for their personal numbers, being made to talk to the talent whilst the talent is topless and general unease in his company.

“Gregg Wallace is the name attached to these experiences.

“Additionally, it has been reported to us that these behaviours are not reserved for production staff.”

At the end, the letter claimed the actions “clearly fail to meet” the corporation’s sexual harassment and bullying standards and asked the BBC “what measures will be taken to make sure that this key talent is aware that these behaviours are unacceptable”.

Elrick added: “We do not need to stress how difficult/stressful/upsetting it is for women in production to be placed in a position where high-profile talent use their clout to make deeply uncomfortable remarks.

“Although these are not, as stressed above, not official complaints, it is the number that have come forward about this one person that has prompted this letter.

“We tend to err on the side of believing these stories as there is absolutely no gain to be made from making them up.”

MasterChef host Gregg Wallace has said accusations about him making sexual comments towards staff and guests have come from “middle-class women of a certain age”.

Speaking in a video posted on his Instagram page, the 60-year-old said: “I’ve been doing MasterChef for 20 years, amateur, celebrity and professional MasterChef, and I think, in that time, I have worked with over 4,000 contestants of all different ages, all different backgrounds, all walks of life.

“Apparently now, I’m reading in the paper, there’s been 13 complaints in that time.

“I can see the complaints coming from a handful of middle-class women of a certain age, just from Celebrity MasterChef. This isn’t right.

“In 20 years, over 20 years of television, can you imagine how many women, female contestants on MasterChef, have made sexual remarks, or sexual innuendo? Can you imagine?”

Further accusations have been made against TV presenter Gregg Wallace in the wake of him stepping away from hosting hit BBC show MasterChef while a review into complaints is carried out.

On Thursday, the cooking programme’s production company Banijay UK said the BBC received complaints from individuals in relation to “historical allegations of misconduct” while working with Wallace.

He is “committed to fully co-operating throughout the process”, the company also said.

There were reports on Friday evening in news outlets such as The Sun newspaper about other alleged behaviour by Wallace.

Banijay UK confirmed on Saturday it had appointed law firm Lewis Silkin to lead an investigation into Wallace’s alleged behaviour.

Gregg Wallace has shared another cryptic Instagram post in the wake of allegations against himself.

The former Masterchef host took to social media to share a picture of what appeared to be grey stone with simple message: “We are all different.”

Earlier, he shared an Instagram story of a gingerbread man, with the caption: “Enjoy your weekend.”

Wallace has stepped down from MasterChef amid allegations of inappropriate sexual comments from 13 people who worked with him across a range of shows over a 17-year period.

Among those alleging misconduct is former Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark, who claimed Mr Wallace told “sexualised” jokes during filming of a Celebrity MasterChef episode in 2011.

“There were two occasions in particular where he used sexualised language in front of a number of people and it wasn’t as if anyone engaged with this,” she said.

Wallace allegedly also talked openly about his sex life and once told a junior female colleague he wasn’t wearing any underwear under his jeans, according to the BBC News investigation.

The Independent has contacted Wallace’s representatives for comment. A BBC spokesperson said “any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated”.

Gregg Wallace was always an unlikely TV star. Prematurely bald, stout, and the proud wearer of thick glasses, he seemed destined for an unglamorous life amid the vegetable stalls of the capital, rather than on TV screens across the country.

And yet, the presenter, who today has stepped back from his role as a judge on MasterChef after a series of historic sexual misconduct allegations came to light, has made himself part of the furniture at the BBC.

And that makes his rapid fall from grace even more troubling for the corporation, though Wallace’s lawyers say it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.

Read the full analysis from Nick Hilton here: