The BBC was warned of alleged inappropriate behaviour by Gregg Wallace years before he stepped back from hosting MasterChef this week, according to reports.
In an email seen by The Times, broadcaster Aasmah Mir complained to the corporation about comments made by Wallace after she had appeared on Celebrity Masterchef.
Kate Phillips, who now manages unscripted programmes for the BBC, was forwarded on the email in 2017 and told Mir that she would ensure she was “informed straight away” should further allegations arise, reports the outet.
In a separate report published by The Guardian, the BBC was reportedly once again made aware of complaints about Wallace’s behaviour in 2022, when a letter outlining allegations was sent.
On Thursday, it was revealed that Wallace would be stepping back as host of the BBC cookery series as an investigation takes place into alleged inappropriate comments made across a 17-year period.
Since the news broke, several stars to have appeared on Celebrity MasterChef, including former Newsnight host Kirsty Wark and Geordie Shore’s Charlotte Crosby, have hit out at the host for alleged remarks they heard when they were filming episodes.
On Saturday night, The Times has reported that 2017 Celebrity Masterchef contestant Mir had complained about comments made by Wallace during filming of the show’s 12th series.
The newspaper claimed she wrote to the corporation in an email forwarded on to Ms Phillips.
“Should anything happen in the future, I don’t want to feel guilty when people say ‘why wasn’t anything said before?’, or for producers or editors to claim they didn’t know,” the email reportedly read.
She also reportedly wrote: “This must not happen again to another woman.”
In internal emails seen by The Times, Ms Phillips said she would ensure that she was “informed straight away” should more complaints be made against Wallace.
The BBC was also sent a letter outlining allegations about Wallace’s behaviour in 2022, according to The Guardian.
The letter reportedly contained claims from several women, including complaints of sexualised comments, but did not prompt any further investigation at the time.
The Guardian reported that it was sent by director and producer Dawn Elrick in 2022, on behalf of other women who contacted her. Ms Elrick said she was told each complainant would have to contact the broadcasters individually.
“This is very tricky for freelancers to do without identifying themselves, which makes life extremely tricky in the freelance world,” she told the paper. “Placing the onus on individual employees/freelancers means they failed to see that I was trying to tell them there was a pattern of alleged behaviour.”
A BBC spokesperson told The Independent: “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.
“It would be inappropriate for us to comment on anything that could form part of Banijay’s ongoing investigation or otherwise influence it.”
Banijay UK, the production company behind Masterchef, has launched an investigation into the multiple allegations against Wallace, who is said to be cooperating.
The company said in a statement: “Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.”
The Independent has approached Wallace’s team for comment on allegations over his conduct. On Thursday night, he issued a video message on Instagram, thanking people for their support after the allegations were made.
