Gregg Wallace has broken his silence, after claims were made that he 'offended colleagues' and 'quit' BBC Two's Inside The Factory. The 58-year-old earlier revealed that he quit the series after a seven-season stint to look after his young son, who has autism.
But contrasting reports have emerged, claiming that Gregg stepped back as he was 'rude' to colleagues and even allegedly made comments towards female staff about their weight - reports The Star. A source spoke to The Times about the Masterchef favourite's choice to leave his tenure with Inside The Factory.
They claimed: "He was rude towards staff and continued to talk in a derogatory manner, especially to women."
Read more: Gregg Wallace to stop hosting BBC series Inside The Factory to focus on autistic three-year-old son
Now, Gregg has spoken out against the claims, setting the record straight about his decision to depart the widely-watched show. Also addressing the claims to The Times, he explained: "I’ve enjoyed doing [Inside The Factory] for a number of years and I’ve done hundreds of factories. I use humour to relax people.
"It’s a tool I’ve used for lots of years. I never, ever set out to upset or offend anybody and I never would. It makes me upset that I might have upset people."
He also detailed how times have changed, and he urged people to 'be more careful' - accepting the fact that standards 'should' shift. He continued: "Things change, they evolve. So they should. We should be more careful.
"All I would say is, perhaps we need to draw a line between people that are bullies or nasty people and people that have made a mistake. Perhaps."
Wallace then went on to re-confirm that his number one priority currently is taking care of his beloved son, who he shares with 37-year-old wife, Anne-Marie Sterpini. Gregg's statement also lands after Masterchef co-host John Torode dismissed claims that the duo were in a feud.
Rumours started to fly about how the presenting pair are 'not pals', but Torode quickly put the allegations to bed. The Australian star appeared on the Desert Island Dishes podcast, highlighting how the pair were 'work colleagues' who have 'always stayed work colleagues' and there was no feud between them.
John also detailed how they 'don't go to the pub together' and 'don't go to each other's houses'.
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