A former Celebrity MasterChef contestant has said Gregg Wallace’s reaction to the accusations being made against him shows he has “no insight or understanding of how he behaves”.
The MasterChef presenter, who faces various allegations of making “inappropriate sexual jokes” and complaints about his behaviour, has said the accusations have come from “a handful of middle-class women of a certain age”.
The 60-year-old faces allegations from 13 people across a range of shows over a 17-year period, as reported by BBC News on Thursday, with many others since sharing their experiences.
Gregg Wallace stepped back from MasterChef last week after claims were made by 13 people that he made a number of inappropriate sexual comments while working on a range of programmes.
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) December 2, 2024
Former Celebrity Masterchef contestant Aggie Mackenzie who took part in the programme in 2011,… pic.twitter.com/yv8DCILrpo
Among the complainants was former Newsnight host Kirsty Wark who told BBC News on two occasions Wallace relayed stories and jokes of a “sexualised nature” in front of contestants and crew when she competed on Celebrity MasterChef in 2011.
Scottish TV presenter Aggie MacKenzie, who competed on the same series, told Good Morning Britain: “Yes I agree with everything Kirsty says, those jokes weren’t actually directed at me, but the jokes were always smutty, they were endless.
“It was as if Gregg was some sort of dinosaur who just can’t read the room, and seemed to be allowed to carry on in this way.”
Addressing Wallace’s response to the accusations, the 69-year-old added: “This illustrates how he just has no insight or understanding of how he behaves. He just doesn’t get it.
“He’s been allowed to carry on in his own sweet way for many, many years.”
Labour MP Dr Rupa Huq, who sits on the Culture, Media and Sport committee, suggested on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme it would “send a strong message that this kind of behaviour is not acceptable” if the current running series of MasterChef: The Professionals was paused.
“There is an argument for pausing while this investigation takes its course, and maybe not airing it tonight”, she said about the show which is next due to air on Monday evening.
“I mean, it could be massively triggering for the women involved. In fact, any woman involved in any type of similar incident.”
There are also two MasterChef specials currently lined-up for the BBC Christmas schedule, a celebrity Cook Off and a Strictly Festive Extravaganza.
Addressing the accusations in a post on Instagram on Sunday, Wallace said: “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 another video, Wallace claimed “absolutely none” of the people he had worked with on his shows had made a complaint about him.
Wallace’s lawyers say “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.
Ulrika Jonsson, who claimed Wallace had been forced to apologise for an inappropriate comment which upset another contestant when she competed on Celebrity MasterChef in 2017, told The Telegraph she was “seething” at Wallace’s statement.
In response to reports that multiple complaints had been raised with the BBC, a source for the corporation said it would not comment on individuals or any internal HR processes, but that it would be “wrong to report the BBC has done nothing if or when matters have been raised with us – not least because it is already being widely reported there were interventions in both 2017 and 2018 where action was taken”.
Allegations were also raised by staff members about Wallace’s behaviour on Channel 5’s Gregg Wallace’s Big Weekends to BBC News, with producer Rumpus Media saying it would be investigating allegations of “inappropriate behaviour”.
It comes after it was announced Wallace is to step away from the BBC cooking show while historical misconduct complaints are externally reviewed by MasterChef producer Banijay UK.
The production company confirmed it has appointed law firm Lewis Silkin to lead an investigation into Wallace’s alleged behaviour.
