Gregg Wallace has told friends he expects to be sacked following an investigation into his alleged sexual harassment and groping.
The 60-year-old is currently facing claims from at least 13 women across five shows over a 17-year period, who have accused him of inappropriate behaviour, including roaming around on set naked with a sock on his penis, inappropriate jokes and groping crew members.
Other allegations include talking openly about his sex life on set, with details of intimate acts, flirting with crew members and asking younger female colleagues for their numbers.
Now, The Sun has reported Wallace has stopped using his legal team as he believes he will be sacked from MasterChef and has resigned to his fate.
The presenter has reportedly turned down crisis-publicity teams in the weeks after several women complained he had groped or harassed them.
Wallace announced he was stepping away from presenting MasterChef after nearly 20 years last month, while an investigation into his alleged misconduct is carried out.
The TV presenter has previously denied the claims, but those close to him said he understood his position on MasterChef was no longer tenable, The Sun reported.
A source told the newspaper: ‘Gregg’s conceded he has lost everything. To put it bluntly, he’s told people, ‘I’m f***ed’.
‘He came out swinging but he has quietly conceded that he knows his time on MasterChef is over and that he will be stepping aside.’
Gregg Wallace (pictured) is currently facing claims from at least 13 women across five shows over a 17-year period, who have accused him of inappropriate behaviour, including roaming around on set naked with a sock on his penis, inappropriate jokes and groping crew members
Wallace quit BBC show Inside The Factory in March last year after allegations that he had been ‘rude towards staff’ and spoke to them in a ‘derogatory manner, especially to women’
Gregg Wallace previously posted on Instagram hitting back at the allegations made against him
The source added that Wallace ‘never meant to cause any offence’ and insisted any jokes made were just jokes.
They said Wallace had been under a ‘huge amount of pressure’ since the allegations came to light and has ‘tried his best to fight his corner’.
But, the source went on to say that Wallace has ‘come to terms’ with the fact that the BBC and Banijay UK ‘must be seen to take action’.
A journalist who worked for The Grocer magazine as a junior reporter in 2009 said Wallace once asked for her number and told her he would be a ‘great contact’ for her as a journalist.
The reporter, then 26, interviewed Wallace at the magazine’s Own-Label Excellence awards at the Hurlingham Club, south-west London in 2009.
She was left with an ‘slightly icky feeling’ from the attention he was giving her and after they parted ways, she received a text.
The former journalist told The Guardian he left her a message saying: ‘All right, gorgeous’ and then something about, ‘I like the way you’re eating that’.
He asked her for ‘a snog’ and left multiple ‘creepy’ voicemails, some of which she played to colleagues who reacted with shock.
It was announced last week that the BBC would be pulling its planned two MasterChef Christmas specials amid the allegations of misconduct.
The specials featured celebrities including The Wanted singer Max George, Emmerdale actor Amy Walsh, reality star Luca Bish and comedian Shazia Mira.
The second, called MasterChef Meets Strictly Festive Extravaganza, was due to feature Strictly Come Dancing’s Amy Dowden, Gorka Marquez, Kai Widdrington and Nancy Xu, with Motsi Mabuse setting a challenge.
Channel 5 has also pulled planned repeats of Gregg Wallace’s Copenhagen Christmas Market and Gregg Wallace’s Lapland Christmas Adventure from its festive schedule.
At least 13 people have made a formal complaint against Wallace, while other celebrities and former contestants have also spoken about his alleged behaviour
The BBC has pulled its planned MasterChef Christmas specials amid a series of allegations of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour against presenter Gregg Wallace (right, pictured with co-host John Torode)
Allegations were raised by staff members about Wallace’s behaviour on Channel 5‘ s Gregg Wallace’s Big Weekends during a BBC News investigation, with producer Rumpus Media saying was investigating allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’.
One woman said that while making Gregg Wallace’s Big Weekends in 2019, he became ‘fascinated’ by her relationships with women and wanted to know the ‘logistics’ of her sex life.
Another woman said that while working on the Channel 5 programme at the same time, Wallace’s conversation often revolved around sex, including spanking and domination.
A third woman who worked on the show, who BBC News called Amanda, said Wallace allegedly showed her photos of a woman in her underwear while they were travelling in a car together.
She also recalled how he allegedly took off his top and said ‘let me give you a fashion show’ in front of her and a male colleague when trying on outfits in his hotel room after filming had wrapped for the day.
Her colleague then left the room and she told BBC News: ‘It’s weird to be alone in a room with a topless stranger.’
Another person who worked with him on Channel 5 travel show, claimed that he treated women dismissively.
Wallace pictured in February last year after being made an MBE at Windsor Castle
Fallen MasterChef star Gregg Wallace allegedly harassed a young reporter who interviewed him, asking for a ‘snog’ and leaving her voicemails for ‘weeks’
Wallace allegedly offended certain female staff members at the Nestlé UK factory in York with comments about their weight during a ‘friendly’ conversation.
The comments were non-sexual but were deemed ‘inappropriate’ and a complaint was lodged with Voltage TV, the production company responsible for developing the show.
‘He was rude towards staff and continued to talk in a derogatory manner, especially to women.
‘He was given a talking-to and was appalled that he had caused such offence,’ a source said.
Voltage TV asked Wallace to moderate his language and filming continued – but his behaviour seemingly didn’t change.
Staff reportedly informed management that they did not want the show to return while Wallace remained at the helm.
Melanie Sykes said Wallace was the reason she left her TV career behind, while Vanessa Feltz alleged he had told a lewd sex story about his wife in a BBC lift.
Sykes said she made an informal complaint against Wallace, and claimed she found conduct on the MasterChef set ‘jaw-dropping’.
And broadcaster Vanessa Feltz claimed he had described a sex act he had performed on his wife while in a BBC lift with her friend.
It follows ongoing backlash after Wallace took to Instagram with a furious rant in which he accused the allegations of being made by a handful of ‘middle-class women of a certain age’.
Wallace issued an apology for any ‘offence’ or ‘upset’ he caused with his statement over the weekend, saying: ‘I wasn’t in a good headspace when I posted it, I’ve been under a huge amount of stress, a lot of emotion, I felt very alone, under siege yesterday when I posted it.’
He added: ‘It’s obvious to me I need to take some time out now while this investigation is under way. I hope you understand and I do hope you will accept this apology.’
His apology came after it sparked a backlash, with Downing Street saying his response to the accusations was ‘inappropriate and misogynistic’.