Gregg Wallace is stepping away from presenting MasterChef after complaints to the BBC from 13 people, including Newsnight host Kirsty Wark who accused him of inappropriate sexual comments during filming.
An investigation is under way and Wallace, 60, is “committed to fully co-operating throughout the process”, the show’s production company said.
The star is best known for his role as a judge alongside John Torode on MasterChef, Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals. Since 2005, he has been a judge on the cooking show.
BBC News has reported it sent a letter to Wallace’s representatives outlining allegations of inappropriate sexual comments made by 13 people from a number of different shows over 17 years. Wallace’s lawyers are quoted by BBC as saying: “It is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.”
Wark is one of the 13 people who has made the allegations to the BBC. She accused Wallace of telling stories of a “sexualised nature” in front of contestants and crew on two occasions while filming Celebrity MasterChef contestant in 2011.
The BBC also reported that other allegations Wallace has been accused include “talking openly about his sex life, taking his top off in front of a female worker saying he wanted to ‘give her a fashion show’, and telling a junior female colleague he was not wearing any boxer shorts under his jeans”.
Meanwhile, Sir Rod Stewart posted on Instagram to accuse Wallace of having “humiliated” his wife Penny Lancaster when she took part in Celebrity MasterChef in 2021, branding him a “tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully”.
Stewart posted: “So Gregg Wallace gets fired from Masterchef. Good riddance Wallace. You humiliated my wife when she was on the celebrity version of the show, but you had that bit cut out didn’t you?
“You’re a tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully. Karma got ya. Sir Rod Stewart.”
Ulrika Jonsson has also spoken out about her experiences of Wallace, claiming to The Telegraph that when she took part in Celebrity MasterChef in 2017 the presenter had made a “rape joke”, leaving another female contestant who she didn’t know “really distressed”.
She alleged: “They then went off to speak to Gregg. After a while he came up…and he apologised. He could hardly get his words out… He was apologising, and he had tears in his eyes…I felt like, ‘Don’t make that joke in the first place.”
Currently the latest series of Masterchef: The Professionals is airing on TV and it is expected the pre-recorded episodes will air as planned.
This week the BBC received complaints about the star in relation to historical allegations of misconduct and the broadcaster said it takes issues raised “seriously”.
Gregg Wallace steps away from Masterchef
A statement from the show’s production company Banijay UK to the PA news agency said: “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.“
“Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate.
“While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process.“
The statement added: “If anyone would like to talk to us or raise any issues or concerns, then they can contact speakup@banijayuk.com in confidence.”
What has the BBC said?
The BBC has confirmed the news saying: “We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them.
“We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.
“Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them.”
What Gregg Wallace has said
Although Wallace has not yet released an official statement about the allegations, he did post a video to Instagram ahead of Thursday’s episode of MasterChef: The Professionals airing where he thanked fans for their support.
He said: “I would like to thank all the people getting in touch, reach out and showing their support. That’s good of you, thank you very much.”
Away from Masterchef, Wallace is married to Anne-Marie Sterpini, 39, and they raise son Sid together. The couple married in 2016 after meeting in 2013. He has two children Tommy and Libby from a former relationship.
The TV personality was recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2022 for his services to food and charity.
Other controversies
In October, Wallace denied he made sexual comments to a female BBC staffer in 2018 on Impossible Celebrities.
Last month, The Sun reported that in 2018 the MasterChef star was investigated for allegedly taking his top off and bragging about his sex life to a female BBC employee while working on the game show Impossible Celebrities.
On social media, he told his followers on Monday, 14 October: “I didn’t say anything sexual.”
Previously, Wallace fronted the BBC’s Inside The Factory before saying in 2023 that he would step away to take care of his son Sid who is autistic.
A report by The Times later suggested that an incident at a Nestlé factory in York at the start of the year contributed to the decision. It was alleged that the broadcaster had made inappropriate comments to staff, but the remarks were not sexual in nature.
In response to the allegations, a representative for Wallace told The Independent: “We refer to you the original statement which makes clear his reasons for not continuing filming the series.”