Downing Street has said Gregg Wallace’s response to the accusations being made against him was “inappropriate and misogynistic”.
The MasterChef presenter, who faces various allegations of making “inappropriate sexual jokes” and complaints about his behaviour, has said the claims 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 sharing their experiences in recent days.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has since held talks with BBC bosses in the wake of the Wallace row, Downing Street said.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Culture Secretary spoke with the BBC leadership at the end of last week on this matter and wider workplace culture issues to seek assurances that there are robust processes in place to deal with complaints.
“Clearly the comments we have seen from the individual over the weekend were completely inappropriate and misogynistic.
“More broadly the BBC is conducting an independent review into workplace culture which must deliver clear and timely recommendations. It’s essential that staff and the wider public have confidence that the BBC takes these issues seriously.”
Asked whether MasterChef should be pulled off air, the spokesman added the decision was for the BBC and the show’s production company, and reiterated that Downing Street believes it is “right” that a thorough investigation is conducted.
Philippa Childs, head of media and entertainment union Bectu, said that “misogyny, intimidation, ageism and sexual harassment should have no place” in modern workplaces, but “time and again we see that these issues continue to run rampant in the creative industries – propped up by inadequate reporting mechanisms, a lack of accountability and an industry that enables extreme power dynamics and ‘untouchable’ talent.”
She continued: “Reports that the BBC previously internally investigated complaints about Wallace and concluded that aspects of his behaviour were unacceptable are deeply troubling – is it any wonder that film and TV freelancers, many of them worrying about their next job, think twice about sticking their head above the parapet?
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”.
Wallace’s statement sparked a backlash, with former Celebrity MasterChef contestants Ulrika Jonsson, Kirstie Allsopp and Emma Kennedy among those who criticised his response.
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.
