The 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?”
Wallace stepped back from his role on MasterChef last week while allegations of historical misconduct are investigated.
An investigation by BBC News revealed that Wallace is facing allegations of inappropriate sexual comments from 13 people who worked with him over a 17-year period.
Channel 5 is also looking into allegations of inappropriate behaviour by the presenter while making the programme Gregg Wallace’s Big Weekends in 2019.
The Observer revealed this weekend that a letter detailing some of the allegations was sent to the BBC in 2022, including complaints of sexualised comments and of Wallace appearing topless in front of colleagues.