The BBC is facing growing calls to pull tomorrow’s episode of MasterChef off air, after two women came forward to claim Gregg Wallace inappropriately touched them.
BBC News reported that the MasterChef host allegedly pressed his crotch against the bottom of a woman working on the BBC show Eat Well For Less during filming in a supermarket in 2015 and that he allegedly touched the bottom of another woman during a group hug in a lift in 2022.
The broadcaster announced on Tuesday it had scrapped its MasterChef Christmas specials amid an investigation into allegations by 13 individuals of sexually inappropriate comments made by Wallace.
But as fresh allegations of misconduct come to light, pressure is mounting on BBC bosses to axe MasterChef entirely, as the professional version of the series is set to continue airing on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays with Wallace as a judge.
Labour MP Rachel Taylor told BBC Radio 4: “I for one don’t want to be watching a sex pests fawning over fancy food around my Christmas time. I want to see action taken to protect women in the workplace.”
“I don’t think it should be on our screens for a number of reasons. It’s a slap in the face to those women who have been affected by this behaviour.”
Key points
- Gregg Wallace faces fresh allegations of ‘groping'
- BBC pulls MasterChef Christmas specials amid Gregg Wallace claims
- Labour Grandee calls for BBC to pause MasterChef broadcasts
- Stephen Fry brands Gregg Wallace as ‘unbelievably foolish’
Gregg Wallace says head ‘not in a good place’ as he issues new apology for ‘middle class women’ jibe
Tuesday 3 December 2024 02:02 , Alex CroftGregg Wallace says head ‘not in a good place’ in new apology
A visibly emotional Gregg Wallace has apologised after posting a video saying complaints about his alleged inappropriate behaviour came from “a handful of middle-class women of a certain age”.
In a new Instagram message, posted on Monday, the MasterChef presenter said his head was “not in a good place” and that he is “under a lot of stress”.
My colleague Lucy Leeson reports:
Gregg Wallace issues emotional apology as he confirms time away from public eye
Downing Street says Wallace comments on middle class women were ‘misogynistic’
Tuesday 3 December 2024 03:00 , Alex CroftDowning Street has said Gregg Wallace’s response to the accusations being made against him was “inappropriate and misogynistic”.
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.
Timeline of events as Gregg Wallace faces wave of accusations
Tuesday 3 December 2024 04:03 , Alex CroftGregg Wallace has faced a series of accusations since it was announced he would step away from presenting hit BBC cooking show MasterChef while complaints about historical allegations of misconduct are externally reviewed.
The presenter, 60, faces various claims of making “inappropriate sexual jokes” and complaints about his behaviour, with his lawyer saying “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.
Here is a timeline of events:
Timeline of events as Gregg Wallace faces wave of accusations
Wallace is ‘full of jokes’, says TV chef Tom Kerridge
Tuesday 3 December 2024 05:01 , Alex CroftTV chef Tom Kerridge said he has always known Gregg Wallace to be “full of jokes”.
“And he’s always full of charisma. And that front of camera charisma is always something that continues into off-screen as well”, Mr Kerridge told Sky News’ Politics hub.
The BBC has a Gregg Wallace problem that goes beyond MasterChef
Tuesday 3 December 2024 06:02 , Alex CroftIs the fate of a television cookery presenter more important than Syrian insurgents seizing Aleppo and the turmoil on the streets in Georgia? The BBC thinks so, based on its news judgements in recent days, which have seen exhaustive coverage of the accusations against Gregg Wallace take precedence over matters of life and death around the world.
Once again, the “independence” of BBC News has been trumpeted in its ability to report on the corporation’s own business – but for many, it reflects a self-obsession and lack of perspective which questions the judgement of the news division. Senior BBC executives share this view, I know, but they feel powerless to intervene without the risk of being accused of corporate cover-ups.
Former head of BBC news, Roger Mosey, writes:
The BBC has a Gregg Wallace problem that goes beyond MasterChef
Watch: Gregg Wallace and Kirsty Wark clash in MasterChef kitchen in resurfaced clip
Tuesday 3 December 2024 07:01 , Alex CroftComment | Gregg Wallace is just the latest example of a much bigger problem with men
Tuesday 3 December 2024 07:30 , Alex CroftWhen I woke up to MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace blaming midlife, middle-class women and their lack of a sense of humour for his troubles, I confess to swearing at my phone. The levels of denial here are off the scale; how can he think it is our collective lack of a sense of humour which is the villain here, not his own over-sexualised, aggressive, Neanderthal-style banter?
Did Wallace – who has been accused of making inappropriate sexual comments over a period of 17 years – not stop for a second to consider that it might be these women who are calling him out because they are the ones with the confidence to do so?
Read the full Voices piece by journalist Eleanor Mills:
Gregg Wallace is just the latest example of a much bigger problem with men
Watch: Ex MasterChef star Aggie Mackenzie claims Gregg Wallace told ‘smutty’ jokes
Tuesday 3 December 2024 08:00 , Alex CroftLabour Grandee calls for BBC to pause MasterChef broadcasts
Tuesday 3 December 2024 08:42 , Athena StavrouThe BBC is facing calls from senior politicians to pause broadcasting of MasterChef as it investigates complaints of misconduct against host Gregg Wallace.
Labour grandee Baroness Harriet Harman said she does not “think the BBC should be airing” the show as she told LBC : “It is not the job of presenters to trash a whole load of viewers who hitherto have enjoyed watching the programme. But I, for one, am not going to be watching it.”
Downing Street has also condemned remarks Wallace made over the weekend about middle class women being to blame for the complaints as “inappropriate and misogynistic”.
Stephen Fry brands Wallace as ‘unbelievably foolish'
Tuesday 3 December 2024 08:51 , Athena StavrouGregg Wallace has been branded as “unbelievably foolish” by Stephen Fry for posting a video to social media over the weekend blaming “middle-class women of a certain age” for complaints against him.
The veteran actor told SkyNews: “It was obviously unbelievably foolish of Gregg Wallace to make that video over the weekend. It really showed that he wasn’t understanding.”
“Even if he felt he had been misunderstood himself, he could surely see that there were some women there who were truly hurt and had felt not listened to and that he should first of all address that.”
Jess Phillips ‘okay’ with MasterChef continuing to air
Tuesday 3 December 2024 09:00 , Athena StavrouMP Jess Phillips has said she is comfortable with MasterChef continuing to air while host Gregg Wallace is investigated over his behaviour.
She told BBC Breakfast: “Gregg Wallace isn’t the only person on MasterChef, if it was just the Gregg Wallace show, then I could understand that you would immediately go, yeah, just take it off the air.
“But it is a launchpad for quite a lot of young chefs. It’s not for me to decide what the BBC chooses to air or not.”
As long as the investigation is ongoing, she said, she is “okay” with MasterChef continuing to air.
Men on TV must consider ‘banter’, Stephen Fry says
Tuesday 3 December 2024 09:13 , Athena StavrouStephen Fry has said men in television must consider who may be the “victim or stereotype” at the root of their “light banter” after Gregg Wallace apologised for his response to complaints made about his behaviour.
Fry told Sky News Breakfast on Tuesday: “I think if, by now, people who work in television, men who work in television, don’t understand that light banter is no longer something that can be aired in ways unless they think hard about, is there a sort of victim or a stereotype at the root of this banter who might be hurt.
“And it’s just good manners, really. Good manners have changed. In Victorian times, certain things couldn’t be referred to or seen and it was only polite to obey this because people were shocked and upset if things were not respected that they respect.
“And so I think we’ve all just got to realise it’s not about wokeness, it’s just about being sensitive to the atmosphere.”
Comment: Don’t worry about Gregg Wallace – he’s already eyeing up his next career move
Tuesday 3 December 2024 09:28 , Athena Stavrou“If you’re a middle-class man of a certain age worried about Gregg Wallace’s future career prospects, there’s no need. Honestly. It’s all going to be absolutely fine – I promise you,” writes Helen Coffey.
“The disgraced ‘MasterChef’ judge is clearly gearing up to follow in the tried and tested footsteps of many problematic men before him”
Read the full comment here:
Don’t worry about Gregg Wallace – he’s already eyeing up his next career move
Wallace ‘missed the perfect opportunity to say nothing’, says MP
Tuesday 3 December 2024 09:54 , Athena StavrouGregg Wallace “missed the perfect opportunity to say nothing” in his response to an investigation being opened into his behaviour, MP Jess Phillips has said.
“I think that I’m going to go back to my mother’s best advice for Gregg Wallace at the moment … that he missed the perfect opportunity to say nothing,” the safeguarding minister told Times Radio.
His comments in response to an inquiry being opened were “sexist, they were less than helpful, and they were less than helpful to him,” she said.
“I think that the investigation has to go ahead, but Gregg Wallace obviously has complete capability to apologise for anything that he sees fit in the meantime.
“Now, you know the allegations that have been made need to be looked into, but if they are found, then of course he should apologise and show that he’s going to change his behaviour if that’s the case.”
Anita Rani warns Gregg Wallace ‘women have long memories’
Tuesday 3 December 2024 10:21 , Athena StavrouTV host Anita Rani has warned Gregg Wallace that the women he may have offended over the weekend have “long memories”.
The Countryfile host, 47, took to social media to respond to claims made by Wallace that “middle-class women of a certain age,” were to blame for misconduct complaints made against him.
She wrote: “It’s important to remember that many middle class women of a certain age grew up as working class girls who were, and are, fierce as f***. With long memories.”
Melanie Sykes says ‘jaw-dropping’ Gregg Wallace encounter made her quit TV
Tuesday 3 December 2024 10:49 , Athena StavrouGregg Wallace made an alleged remark to Melanie Sykes on Celebrity MasterChef that forced her to quit television “once and for all”.
The TV presenter appeared on the cookery competition in 2021, making it to the semi-final. However, Sykes ended up making an informal complaint about Wallace, who has “stepped away” from the show over allegations of inappropriate comments.
Writing in Illuminated, Sykes, who has been on screens since the 1990s, said that Wallace told her appearing on Celebrity MasterChef would help her career.
“I didn’t know what to say, so I smiled and said ‘Yes,’ but I was really thinking, ‘Yes, you have finally helped me decide to end my television career once and for all,’” Sykes wrote, adding: “I was done.”
BBC will go ahead with broadcasting filmed MasterChef episodes as planned
Tuesday 3 December 2024 11:16 , Athena StavrouAs the BBC faces pressure to pause future broadcasts of MasterChef while the allegations of inappropriate sexual remarks by Gregg Wallace are investigated, the broadcaster insists the series will go ahead.
The current series of MasterChef: The Professionals, which airs on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays with Gregg Wallace as a judge, will continue to be aired as planned.
A BBC spokesperson said: “MasterChef is life-changing for the chefs that take part and the show is about more than one individual.”
The broadcaster reiterated that “any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated”.
Premium: Gregg Wallace is just the latest example of a much bigger problem with men
Tuesday 3 December 2024 11:36 , Athena StavrouThe allegations against the ‘MasterChef’ presenter show that if you are important enough and powerful enough your transgressions will often be overlooked. It’s time for that to change, writes Eleanor Mills:
Read the full Premium article here:
Gregg Wallace is just the latest example of a much bigger problem with men
Former MasterChef contestant shares comments made by Wallace
Tuesday 3 December 2024 12:07 , Athena StavrouA former MasterChef contestant has come forward with fresh allegations of inappropriate comments made by Gregg Wallace both during and after her time in the competition.
During her time on the show in 2011, Jackie Kearney claimed Wallace would make “sexual innuendos about women when they weren’t in earshot”, as well as in front of them.
She said added: “There were several times that he would comment on my legs, or comment on the skirts I was wearing... he made a comment once: ‘If I’d known you had legs like that, maybe you’d have made it further’.”
She later returned to the show as a guest judge in 2017, shortly after the publication of her second book, which she tried to give the two judges,
“I was feeling really proud of it,” she said. “I came into the studio and was like, ‘Hi Gregg, I’ve got something for you!’ And he said, ‘Oh, is it a present for my c**k?’”
She added: “I felt like I wanted the ground to swallow me up. The humiliation and embarrassment... but it wasn’t just about what he said. I felt so humiliated, I felt so stupid.”
She then went to the toilets and cried.
Watch: Jack Whitehall has dig at Gregg Wallace on BBC’s ‘The One Show’
Tuesday 3 December 2024 12:30 , Athena StavrouICYMI: Gregg not contracted for future series, production company confirms
Tuesday 3 December 2024 12:49 , Athena StavrouThe company that produces MasterChef, has confirmed Gregg Wallace is not contracted for future series as an investigation into alleged inappropriate behaviour is carried out.
Production company Banijay UK told The Independent that Wallace is contracted on a series by series basis and is not set to be a part of future series while the investigation is ongoing.
Who is celebrity chef Gregg Wallace?
Tuesday 3 December 2024 13:13 , Athena StavrouGregg Wallace, 60, 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 the original presenter of the BBC show Saturday Kitchen in 2002 and has also featured on Eat Well For Less, Inside The Factory, Turn Back Time, Harvest, and Supermarket Secrets.
He was made an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2022 for his services to food and charity. Mr Wallace took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2014 and was partnered with Aliona Vilani.
He has two children, Tom and Libby, from a former relationship. He married Anne-Marie Sterpini in 2016 and the couple have a son called Sid.
Breaking: BBC pulls MasterChef Christmas specials amid Gregg Wallace claims
Tuesday 3 December 2024 13:25 , Tom BarnesThe BBC has announced it will pull its MasterChef Christmas specials amid an investigation into allegations by 13 individuals of sexually inappropriate comments made by host Gregg Wallace.
Two Christmas specials of the cookery show were planned to air on BBC One later this month. But BBC News said on Tuesday afternoon the episodes would no longer be broadcast.
It represents a U-turn for the corporation, which previously said all filmed episodes of MasterChef would air as planned.
Gregg Wallace says head ‘not in a good place’ as he issues new apology for ‘middle class women’ jibe
Tuesday 3 December 2024 13:33 , Athena StavrouGregg Wallace says head ‘not in a good place’ in new apology
A visibly emotional Gregg Wallace has apologised after posting a video saying complaints about his alleged inappropriate behaviour came from “a handful of middle-class women of a certain age”.
In a new Instagram message, posted on Monday, the MasterChef presenter said his head was “not in a good place” and that he is “under a lot of stress”.
My colleague Lucy Leeson reports:
Gregg Wallace issues emotional apology as he confirms time away from public eye
ICYMI: Wallace remarks on middle-class women ‘inappropriate and misogynistic’, says No 10
Tuesday 3 December 2024 13:56 , Athena StavrouDowning Street has condemned Gregg Wallace’s remarks characterising those who have complained about his alleged comments as being “middle-class women of a certain age”.
Asked about Wallace’s remarks, Sir Keir Starmer’s official spokesperson was cited as saying by the Telegraph: “On this, as we said last week these allegations are obviously deeply concerning. It’s right that a thorough investigation is conducted.
“Obviously that’s for the BBC and the production company but I would add that 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 the complaints.
“And as you know clearly the comments that we’ve seen from the individual over the weekend were completely inappropriate and misogynistic.”
Comment: Don’t worry about Gregg Wallace – he’s already eyeing up his next career move
Tuesday 3 December 2024 14:23 , Athena Stavrou“If you’re a middle-class man of a certain age worried about Gregg Wallace’s future career prospects, there’s no need. Honestly. It’s all going to be absolutely fine – I promise you,” writes Helen Coffey.
“The disgraced ‘MasterChef’ judge is clearly gearing up to follow in the tried and tested footsteps of many problematic men before him”
Read the full comment here:
Don’t worry about Gregg Wallace – he’s already eyeing up his next career move
Current season of MasterChef: The Professionals to continue airing
Tuesday 3 December 2024 14:42 , Athena StavrouThough the BBC has pulled its MasterChef Christmas specials from its schedule, the broadcaster will continue to air the current season of MasterChef: The Professionals.
A BBC spokesperson said: “As we have said, MasterChef is an amazing competition which is life-changing for the chefs taking part and the current series of MasterChef: The Professionals is continuing as planned.
“The celebrity Christmas specials are obviously a different type of show and in the current circumstances we have decided not to broadcast them.”
What has been cancelled?
Tuesday 3 December 2024 15:52 , Athena StavrouTwo MasterChef celebrity Christmas specials - Celebrity MasterChef Christmas Cook Off and a Strictly Festive Extravaganza - have been pulled from the BBC’s schedule after Gregg Wallace stepped away from hosting the cooking show.
Celebrity MasterChef Christmas Cook Off, hosted by Wallace and John Torode, was to see celebrities competing for the glittery Golden Whisk Trophy.
Emmerdale actor Amy Walsh, comedian Shazia Mirza, reality star Luca Bish, and The Wanted singer Max George, who all appeared on Celebrity MasterChef last year, were set to feature.
The BBC previously announced the Strictly Come Dancing-themed special would involve appearances from professional dancers Amy Dowden, Gorka Marquez, Kai Widdrington and Nancy Xu.
Strictly judge Motsi Mabuse was billed as a mystery guest on the show, with the dancers tasked with creating a two-course menu that would impress the judges.
Three episodes of BBC Two’s Inside The Factory, which are repeats, are also coming out of the schedule, the BBC said.
The show featured Wallace alongside Cherry Healey and saw the pair explore factory floors across Britain to get a closer look at production lines.
The episodes were due to air on December 11, 17 and 18 on BBC Two.
Comment: Why aren’t more men speaking out about Gregg Wallace?
Tuesday 3 December 2024 16:37 , Athena StavrouCasual sexism is like Japanese knotweed, writes Caroline Brown. If everyone who sees it pretends not to notice, or to consider it a problem, it will spread rapidly and take root:
Gregg Wallace and John Torode’s almost 20 years as MasterChef co-hosts
Tuesday 3 December 2024 17:30 , Athena StavrouMasterChef presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode had celebrated the BBC show’s 20th anniversary before it recently hit the headlines.
Torode, 59, who was born in Sydney, Australia in 1965, was a resident chef on This Morning, appearing alongside Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, before he achieved widespread fame with Wallace on the revamped version of the show in 2005.
Wallace, who was born in Peckham, south London, worked in the Covent Garden fruit and vegetable market before finding a successful broadcasting career. The men met in the 1990s when Wallace, greengrocer to London’s best restaurants for more than 20 years, began supplying one of Torode’s establishments.
Wallace told the PA news agency in 2007: “The first time we ever went for a drink together was when we started MasterChef.”
“John would never fraternise with suppliers,” he added.
Across the years there have been rumours that the men did not get along off-screen, although Wallace previously said he was “very fond” of Torode.
Speaking about a dinner he had with Torode, Wallace told PA in 2012: “We drank some very good red wine and we finished with a couple of brandies. We talked about love, life, weight loss, hair loss – I’m very fond of John.”
Torode has yet to comment on the festive shows being pulled from the BBC schedules or about the allegations his co-presenter faces.
Premium: Gregg Wallace is just the latest example of a much bigger problem with men
Tuesday 3 December 2024 18:30 , Athena StavrouThe allegations against the ‘MasterChef’ presenter show that if you are important enough and powerful enough your transgressions will often be overlooked. It’s time for that to change, writes Eleanor Mills:
Read the full Premium article here:
Gregg Wallace is just the latest example of a much bigger problem with men
BBC’s full statement as MasterChef Christmas specials pulled
Tuesday 3 December 2024 19:00 , Athena Stavrou“As we have said, MasterChef is an amazing competition which is life-changing for the chefs taking part and the current series of MasterChef: The Professionals is continuing as planned.
“The celebrity Christmas specials are obviously a different type of show and in the current circumstances we have decided not to broadcast them.”
Anita Rani warns Gregg Wallace ‘women have long memories’
Tuesday 3 December 2024 20:00 , Athena StavrouTV host Anita Rani has warned Gregg Wallace that the women he may have offended over the weekend have “long memories”.
The Countryfile host, 47, took to social media to respond to claims made by Wallace that “middle-class women of a certain age,” were to blame for misconduct complaints made against him.
She wrote: “It’s important to remember that many middle class women of a certain age grew up as working class girls who were, and are, fierce as f***. With long memories.”
Watch: Melanie Sykes says she ‘complained’ about Gregg Wallace on MasterChef
Tuesday 3 December 2024 21:01 , Athena StavrouStephen Fry brands Wallace as ‘unbelievably foolish’
Tuesday 3 December 2024 23:02 , Athena StavrouGregg Wallace has been branded as “unbelievably foolish” by Stephen Fry for posting a video to social media over the weekend blaming “middle-class women of a certain age” for complaints against him.
The veteran actor told SkyNews: “It was obviously unbelievably foolish of Gregg Wallace to make that video over the weekend. It really showed that he wasn’t understanding.”
“Even if he felt he had been misunderstood himself, he could surely see that there were some women there who were truly hurt and had felt not listened to and that he should first of all address that.”
Former MasterChef contestant shares lewd comments made by Wallace
01:00 , Athena StavrouA former MasterChef contestant has come forward with fresh allegations of inappropriate comments made by Gregg Wallace both during and after her time in the competition.
During her time on the show in 2011, Jackie Kearney claimed Wallace would make “sexual innuendos about women when they weren’t in earshot”, as well as in front of them.
She said added: “There were several times that he would comment on my legs, or comment on the skirts I was wearing... he made a comment once: ‘If I’d known you had legs like that, maybe you’d have made it further’.”
She later returned to the show as a guest judge in 2017, shortly after the publication of her second book, which she tried to give the two judges,
“I was feeling really proud of it,” she said. “I came into the studio and was like, ‘Hi Gregg, I’ve got something for you!’ And he said, ‘Oh, is it a present for my c**k?’”
She added: “I felt like I wanted the ground to swallow me up. The humiliation and embarrassment... but it wasn’t just about what he said. I felt so humiliated, I felt so stupid.”
She then went to the toilets and cried.
Watch: Jack Whitehall has dig at Gregg Wallace on BBC's 'The One Show'
03:00 , Athena StavrouEssential that staff and public are confident BBC takes workplace issues seriously, says No 10
05:00 , Athena StavrouDowning Street has warned that it is “essential that staff and the wider public have confidence” that the BBC takes issues relating to workplace culture seriously.
After revealing that culture secretary Lisa Nandy spoke to BBC bosses last week after the Gregg Wallace row began, No 10 said: “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.”
Who is celebrity chef Gregg Wallace?
06:00 , Athena StavrouGregg Wallace, 60, 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 the original presenter of the BBC show Saturday Kitchen in 2002 and has also featured on Eat Well For Less, Inside The Factory, Turn Back Time, Harvest, and Supermarket Secrets.
He was made an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2022 for his services to food and charity. Mr Wallace took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2014 and was partnered with Aliona Vilani.
He has two children, Tom and Libby, from a former relationship. He married Anne-Marie Sterpini in 2016 and the couple have a son called Sid.
Men on TV must consider ‘banter’, Stephen Fry says
07:00 , Athena StavrouStephen Fry has said men in television must consider who may be the “victim or stereotype” at the root of their “light banter” after Gregg Wallace apologised for his response to complaints made about his behaviour.
Fry told Sky News Breakfast on Tuesday: “I think if, by now, people who work in television, men who work in television, don’t understand that light banter is no longer something that can be aired in ways unless they think hard about, is there a sort of victim or a stereotype at the root of this banter who might be hurt.
“And it’s just good manners, really. Good manners have changed. In Victorian times, certain things couldn’t be referred to or seen and it was only polite to obey this because people were shocked and upset if things were not respected that they respect.
“And so I think we’ve all just got to realise it’s not about wokeness, it’s just about being sensitive to the atmosphere.”
Premium: Gregg Wallace is just the latest example of a much bigger problem with men
08:00 , Athena StavrouThe allegations against the ‘MasterChef’ presenter show that if you are important enough and powerful enough your transgressions will often be overlooked. It’s time for that to change, writes Eleanor Mills:
Read the full Premium article here:
Gregg Wallace is just the latest example of a much bigger problem with men
Gregg Wallace faces fresh allegations of ‘groping'
08:48 , Athena StavrouTV star Gregg Wallace, who stepped back from presenting BBC MasterChef last week, is facing fresh allegations of inappropriately touching women.
One woman said he touched her bottom after an event and another said he pressed his crotch against her while filming on a different show, according to BBC News.
Banijay UK, which produces MasterChef, previously said Wallace is “committed to fully co-operating” with the external review while his lawyers have previously strongly denied “he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”, according to BBC News.
BBC News reported that Wallace allegedly pressed his crotch against the bottom of a woman working on the BBC show Eat Well For Less during filming in a supermarket in 2015 and that he allegedly touched the bottom of another woman during a group hug in a lift in 2022.
What have Banijay, the company investigating Wallace claims, said?
09:11 , Athena StavrouLast Thursday, it was announced that Wallace would be stepping away from hit BBC cooking show MasterChef while historical misconduct complaints are externally reviewed by the producer Banijay UK.
A spokesperson from the production company said: “Banijay UK takes this matter incredibly seriously but while the external investigation is ongoing, we won’t be commenting on individual allegations.
“It is important to note, that MasterChef welfare processes are regularly adapted and strengthened, and there are clear protocols to support both crew and contributors.
“These include multiple ways of reporting issues, including anonymously. HR contact details are promoted and contributors are assigned a point of contact on set available to discuss any issues or concerns.”
‘I don’t want to be watching a sex pests fawning over fancy food’, says MP
09:12 , Athena StavrouThe BBC is facing more calls to pause broadcasting of MasterChef as more allegations against Gregg Wallace are made.
Labour MP Rachel Taylor told BBC Radio 4: “I for one don’t want to be watching a sex pests fawning over fancy food around my Christmas time. I want to see action taken to protect women in the workplace.”
“I don’t think it should be on our screens for a number of reasons. It’s a slap in the face to those women who have been affected by this behaviour.”
She went on to say she believes the show should be pulled off air until the investigation into Wallace’s behaviour has concluded.
How much is MasterChef worth to the BBC as broadcaster finally axes show amid Gregg Wallace investigation?
09:39 , Athena StavrouPerhaps the most well-known cooking competition in the world, the MasterChef brand has faced some of its most challenging moments since its beginnings in recent days.
Gregg Wallace, the greengrocer turned TV host who has fronted the show for almost 20 years, was forced to step away on Thursday as allegations of misconduct from 13 people over a 17-year period are investigated.
Since the complaints came to light, many more women have come forward to share their experiences with Wallace, with many alleging he made a series of sexually inappropriate comments whilst filming for the show itself.
Read more here:
Watch: Masterchef contestant says Gregg Wallace comments worthy of 'building site'
10:05 , Athena StavrouBroadcasters need independent scrutiny, union leader says
10:31 , Athena StavrouA trade union leader has called for the media industry to come to together and “accept” the need for independent scrutiny of broadcasters amid the Gregg Wallace scandal.
Head media trade union, Bectu, Philippa Childs told BBC Radio 4: “I think all broadcasters have to think about their processes and procedures. I know that has been the BBC’s defence in this case and indeed Banijya’s defence.
“But I think the time has come now for the whole industry to come together and accept that there does need to be some independent scrutitny of how broadcasters and production companies work to try and adress this endemic problem.”
Who is investigating Gregg Wallace?
11:04 , Athena StavrouAlthough Gregg Wallace appears on our screens on the BBC, the broadcasters themselves are not carrying out the investigation into the MasterChef host.
After allegations of misconduct were made by 13 women, it is the production company behind the show, Banijay UK, who are conducting the inquiry.
The company, which also produces Big Brother and Peaky Blinders, said Wallace is “committed to fully co-operating” with the external review.
Calls for BBC to conduct own investigation
11:35 , Athena StavrouCalls for the BBC to conduct their own inquiry into Gregg Wallace are growing as more misconduct claims are made against the MasterChef host.
Although Wallace appears on the BBC show, the job of investigating his behaviour has instead fallen to the company that produces MasterChef, Banijay UK.
However, the BBC has been urged to launch its own investigation to make sure it is held “accountable”
Labour MP Rachel Taylor told BBC Radio 4: “Most viewers see these programmes as BBC programmes, and they would look to the BBC to be dealing with these serious allegations and investigating things properly.”
She added: “I think the BBC should be accountable to their viewers. It’s the BBC we pay our licence fee for and they should be seen to be over this, making sure that they’re not engaging on our screens somebody who is responsible for this sort of behaviour.”
