Gregg Wallace, the MasterChef presenter, has insisted he never flirted on set after allegations he made inappropriate sexual comments to a younger female BBC colleague while filming in 2018.
Wallace, who has co-hosted on the cooking show since 2005, allegedly boasted about his sex life with his fourth wife as well as taking his shirt off in front of a colleague on the BBC game show Impossible Celebrities.
The presenter said he had been cleared of all allegations from the 2018 incident.
He admitted he had been reported to BBC chiefs for his comments, but said they were neither inappropriate nor of a sexual nature.
In a video on Instagram he said: “The allegations were investigated by the BBC six years ago and my comments were found to be not sexual. I repeat, not sexual.
“Something else that I feel very strongly about — strong enough to be on [Instagram] — nobody six years ago or since has accused me of flirting with anybody or hitting on anybody.
“And that’s important to me and I say this for my wife Anna, who I’ve been true to and madly in love with since the day I met her. I don’t want anybody to misunderstand this and make it look like I was flirting with somebody. Nobody has accused me of that and I never have.”
‘Just banter’
An audience member on the panel show Impossible Celebrities also reportedly heard the inappropriate comments Wallace made to a younger female member of the production team, which he said was “just banter”.
“The team working on the show were mortified and told BBC top brass what had happened,” a source told The Sun.
Wallace was then allegedly told to change his behaviour.
The MasterChef co-host stepped down from the BBC show Inside the Factory in 2023 following allegations he had been rude to staff and talked “in a derogatory manner, especially to women” while filming at a Nestlé factory in York.
The allegation, which is believed to not have been of a sexual nature, was reported to contribute to Wallace’s decision to quit the presenting role after seven series.
Wallace said he left the role to spend more time with his young son.
He denied the allegations but admitted there had been an argument on set.
The BBC has come under fire in recent months for its workplace culture, following the high-profile child pornography case against presenter Huw Edwards, allegations of bullying on Strictly Come Dancing and the football presenter Jermaine Jenas being sacked for sending “inappropriate messages” to two female colleagues.
Last week Samir Shah, the BBC chairman, said he was “fully committed to tackling inappropriate or abusive behaviour” at the broadcaster. It is planning to publish a report into workplace culture in the spring.