Penny Lancaster is prepared to speak with authorities regarding her experience with Gregg Wallace on Celebrity MasterChef, following his recent departure from the BBC show amid misconduct allegations.
The model and Loose Women star, who appeared on the cooking programme in 2021, has indicated through her spokesperson that she is willing to assist with any official inquiries.
The development comes after Lancaster’s husband, Sir Rod Stewart, accused Wallace of humiliating his wife during her appearance on the show, claiming certain footage was deliberately cut from the final broadcast.
Wallace, 60, has stepped away from his role while historical misconduct complaints are externally reviewed.
Stewart took to Instagram to launch a scathing attack on Wallace, writing: “So Greg Wallace gets fired from Masterchef. Good riddance Wallace…You humiliated my wife when she was on the show but you had that bit cut out didn’t you?”
The rock legend continued: “You’re a tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully. Karma got ya. Sir Rod Stewart.” (sic)
One incident occurred over Lancaster cooking calamari
BBC
The post, shared with Stewart’s 1.4 million followers, directly accused Wallace of deliberately removing footage that showed his alleged mistreatment of Lancaster.
The production company has not yet commented on Stewart’s claims regarding edited footage.
A resurfaced clip from Lancaster’s 2021 Celebrity MasterChef appearance shows her being left embarrassed over a fried calamari and tartare sauce dish.
In the footage, Wallace refused to taste her tartare sauce after telling her: “You used whole eggs instead of egg yolks.”
The former model was left upset by their criticisms
BBC
Fellow judge John Torode added: “What I’ve got in here is a raw egg/oil milkshake. Unfortunately, I can’t eat that.”
Later in the episode, Lancaster was reduced to tears when Wallace reprimanded her over timing issues, telling her: “Mate, we can’t be 10 minutes late,” before describing her delay as “serious.”
Despite these incidents, Wallace later praised her chicken curry, saying he found it “difficult to stop” eating.
A spokesperson for Lancaster told MailOnline: “While Penny is happy to talk to the appropriate authorities should they feel she has anything useful to add, she will not be discussing the matter with any broadcaster or newspaper at this time.”
The statement indicates Lancaster’s willingness to cooperate with official investigations while maintaining discretion with media outlets.
Her potential involvement comes as part of a wider investigation into historical allegations of misconduct against Wallace.
The former model, who now volunteers as a special police constable, has not made any direct public statements about her experience on the show.
Banijay UK announced on Thursday that Wallace will step away from MasterChef while an external review investigates historical misconduct allegations.
The production company stated: “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.”
Wallace is “committed to fully cooperating throughout the process,” according to the statement.
The BBC has responded, saying: “We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them.”
Wallace thanked supporters in an Instagram video on Thursday evening, saying: “I would like to thank all the people getting in touch, reaching out and showing their support.”