Gregg Wallace has been accused of making “lesbian jokes” and “highly inappropriate” comments in the latest of a string of complaints made against the TV presenter by people who claim they previously worked with him.
The new accusations, reported by BBC News, follow Thursday’s announcement that Wallace will step away from hosting hit BBC cooking show MasterChef while historical misconduct complaints are externally reviewed by the show’s production company, Banijay UK.
A woman who worked on Gregg Wallace’s Big Weekends in 2019, which aired on Channel 5, and who BBC News has called Anna, told the outlet he was “fascinated” that she dated women and asked her the “logistics” of how it worked.
She also said he reportedly talked about sex, domination and spanking, which she said was “highly inappropriate”.
Another woman who worked on the show, who BBC News has called Amanda, said Wallace allegedly showed her photos of a woman in her underwear while they were travelling in a car together.
She also recalled that he allegedly started showing her and another male colleague his outfits for the next day in his hotel room in Italy after they had finished filming, and that he took off his top and said “let me give you a fashion show”.
Her colleague then left the room and she told BBC News: “It’s weird to be alone in a room with a topless stranger.”
A Channel 5 spokesperson said: “We take any allegations of this nature extremely seriously. We have asked the production company to look into these historical claims.
“The health and wellbeing of everyone involved in our productions is very important to us and we want all of our productions to be safe and secure places for people to work.”
Production company Rumpus Media, which produces Big Weekends, added: “We do not tolerate inappropriate behaviour on our productions. Our comprehensive duty of care processes were in place during production of these series and any matters raised would have been investigated in accordance with these.”
Another woman, who BBC News has named Georgina, reportedly worked with the TV presenter on BBC’s Eat Well For Less TV show in 2019 and recalled him making comments on how his wife was only two years older than her.
She also told the outlet that after he went to his car to sort his parking ticket, he allegedly replied: “You can come to my car, but can you handle the fact everyone will think you just got off with a celebrity?”
Her colleague, named Lisa by BBC News, also recalled Wallace allegedly leaving a bathroom topless in front of them during a shoot and asking them to take his coffee order.
She told BBC News that his “behaviour isn’t acceptable”, adding: “To not only continue to put women in these scenarios but to continue publicly platforming him is a disgrace to our industry standards.”
Sir Rod Stewart took to Instagram following the accusations on Thursday, accusing him of “humiliating” his wife Penny Lancaster on Celebrity MasterChef in 2021.
The veteran singer wrote: “So Greg Wallace gets fired from Master Chef.
“Good riddance Wallace… You humiliated my wife when she was on 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”.
Model Ulrika Jonsson also told The Telegraph that when she competed on Celebrity MasterChef in 2017, Wallace allegedly had to apologise after making a “rape joke”, which caused another female contestant to become “really distressed”.
Jonsson did not hear the joke but said that when another contestant walked off the set, she was told what had occurred.
The Swedish-born TV personality also posted a photo of her MasterChef apron to her Instagram Story, writing: “Hopefully it will all come out in the wash” and another statement saying: “Plenty of crew on set who would not dare to speak up for fear of losing their jobs.”
On Thursday, BBC News reported that the 60-year-old faces allegations from 13 people across a range of shows over a 17-year period including former Newsnight host Kirsty Wark.
Wark told the BBC that on two occasions Wallace relayed stories and jokes of a “sexualised nature” in front of contestants and crew and that she felt they were “really, really in the wrong place”.
BBC News said it had been told of other allegations, including the presenter “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”.
The TV star’s lawyers say “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”, BBC News reported.
A statement from Banijay UK on Thursday said Wallace is “committed to fully co-operating” with an external review.
In an Instagram post on Thursday evening, Wallace thanked his followers, writing: “I would like to thank all the people getting in touch, reaching out and showing their support.
“It’s good of you, thank you very much.”
The Telegraph’s restaurant critic William Sitwell said he was “astonished” at the allegations being made against Wallace in a comment piece in the newspaper.
He wrote: “Interesting, funny, exhausting and outrageous, is the Gregg I know. I gather his colleagues at MasterChef and the production company are as astonished as I am about the news.
“And I’m sure we all hope this force of nature will be back on set sooner than you can say, as his catchphrase goes, ‘buttery biscuit base’.”
A statement from Banijay UK on Thursday 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.
“Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set.
“Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.”
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.”
A BBC spokesman said: “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.”
Wallace is best known for co-presenting MasterChef alongside John Torode since 2005, as well as its spin-offs Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals.
He was made an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2022 for his services to food and charity.
