Watch: Penny Lancaster says she was ‘witness and victim to bullying and harassment’ by Gregg Wallace
What did you miss?
Penny Lancaster has spoken out about her experiences with Gregg Wallace for the first time since her husband Sir Rod Stewart branded the MasterChef judge a “tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully”.
Stewart had posted on social media claiming Wallace had “humiliated” his wife when she took part in Celebrity MasterChef. BBC went public with their investigation into allegations of sexually inappropriate jokes after receiving complaints from 13 people from different shows over a 17-year period, including former Newsnight host Kirsty Wark. More people have spoken out since. Wallace’s lawyers have said, “It is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.”
Returning to Loose Women for the first time since his post, Lancaster claimed she had been “witness and victim to bullying and harassment” by Wallace, saying that other women coming forward had given her the confidence to speak out.
What, how and why?
Lancaster returned to Loose Women on Thursday for the first time since her husband Sir Rod Stewart’s explosive claims that Wallace had bullied and humiliated her on Celebrity MasterChef, where she backed the allegations.
In the wake of the allegations that led to Wallace stepping back from MasterChef, Stewart had labelled the TV host a “tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully” for the way that he said Lancaster had been treated during her time on the 2021 series.
While Lancaster said that she could not go into detail as an investigation is taking place by production company Banijay, she claimed that she was “most definitely witness and victim to some of the bullying and harassment behaviour of Gregg Wallace”.
Read more:
Host Kaye Adams welcomed her back and after reading out Stewart’s post, asked her: “Were you humiliated?”
Lancaster replied: “Yeah, without going into details. I didn’t realise my husband had sent that post out until it was out and of course you can imagine the influx of enquiries.
“I most definitely was witness and victim to some of the bullying and harassment behaviour of Gregg Wallace and unfortunately, a lot of those involved in the production team were also witness to that.
“I really feel that he used his position of power to, I believe, intimidate and cause distress to a lot of people on set and it’s really unfortunate that someone like him is allowed to get away with that while others stand by and let it happen at the same time. It’s obvious that a lot of people have come forward.
“I think my husband when he heard the first people talking about some of the disturbing behaviour, he couldn’t hold back I guess. Protective husband, he thought I’m not going to stay silent, I need to say something because he realised how upset I was at the time. But I haven’t gone into details.”
Others including Kirsty Wark, Aasmah Mir, former MasterChef contestant Jackie Kearney, and Wallace’s autobiography ghost writer Shannon Kyle are among those who have made allegations about the TV star’s behaviour.
Wallace’s lawyers have said “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.
Lancaster added that Stewart’s post had come as a shock to her as she was on jury service when he released his statement.
She said: “I was actually on jury service, you have to turn your phones off completely so I was off grid for a period of time. When I did turn my phone back on I got a message from a friend saying, oh my god, how amazing was that message your husband put out. I’m like what message, what has he done?
“I was in shock and then I thought of all the repercussions from that. But then a day or two afterwards I felt a little bit vindicated that something was put out there.
“Going back to that whole MeToo, it’s shocking to think how many women do suffer in the hands of men in a powerful position and are too afraid to talk out. They don’t feel at the time that they’re going to be supported or listened to. So sometimes it does take a few years later for someone to mention something that gives the other victims and people that have suffered the confidence to come forward.”
BBC have said: “We would like to thank those who have had the courage to speak out. It can be hard to come forward, but we want to assure everyone who does that we will treat anything raised with us with the greatest possible care.”
Clarifying that production company Banijya had employed Wallace rather than the BBC, it continued: “Banijay UK launched the review because they have the direct contractual relationship with Gregg Wallace. He is not employed by the BBC. When issues have been raised with the BBC we have taken action, referring issues to the relevant production company and challenging his behaviour directly as has been widely reported.”
The BBC statement added: “We will provide whatever assistance we can to the investigation. We are already running our own review into workplace culture. It is vital that we have an industry that is not only committed to the highest standards of behaviour and conduct, but that is reflected in people’s experiences. We have always been clear that should people want to raise issues with the BBC, they will be taken very seriously.”
What did Rod Stewart say about Gregg Wallace?
In the wake of the initial allegations about Wallace’s behaviour, Stewart had posted on Instagram: “So Gregg Wallace gets fired from MasterChef. Good Riddance Wallace … You humiliated my wife when she was on the show, but you had that part cut out didn’t you?
“You’re a tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully. Karma got you.”
Stewart also called Wallace “yellow teeth” in a later exchange about the TV judge. Wallace has not responded to Stewart’s claims.
Wallace had originally tried to shrug off allegations as coming from “a handful of middle class women of a certain age”. He later apologised for the remark after No10 branded it “inappropriate and misogynistic”.
Loose Women airs on ITV1 at 12:30pm on weekdays.