Former Masterchef star Gregg Wallace has spoken in his first interview since misconduct allegations were made against him.
Last year, the chef was accused of inappropriate behaviour by 13 people across a range of shows over a 17-year period, which he denies, and he stepped down from co-hosting Masterchef.
In an interview with Mail+, Wallace, 60, said he “thought about suicide all the time”.
“The feeling of being under attack, of isolation, of abandonment was overwhelming,” he said.
“Nobody from the BBC contacted me once these stories started breaking – absolutely nobody at all.
“News channels were updating hourly with new allegations. There was a tidal wave of abuse on social media, a dozen reporters outside the gate.
“You’re watching yourself get personally ripped apart, criticised, accused of all sorts of stuff over and over again. You’re thinking, ‘This isn’t true. It isn’t true. What’s coming next?’”
He added: “Women – big, respected personalities I thought I had a decent relationship with - were attacking me.”
The star was accused of multiple complaints of inappropriate behaviour on set, resulting in him stepping down from his co-hosting slot alongside Jon Torode. His lawyers said it is entirely false to suggest he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.
His initial response to the allegations was defensive, dismissing the claims as from “middle-class women of a certain age”.
The remarks were condemned by several high-profile figures, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and TV presenter Ulrika Jonsson.
Wallace later apologised for his remarks and decided to step out of the public eye.
Speaking in the Mail+ interview, Wallace said: “Look, I don’t want to make myself sound innocent because, I’ve come to realise, I must have offended a lot of people over the years when you look at the number of complaints.
“But people on MasterChef are in a very stressed situation and many of them are going to leave disappointed with shattered dreams.
“I think there has been a lot of misunderstanding of my intention, and so many of the complaints are from so long ago. There’s a difference between what they think I said and what was actually said.”
In the new interview, Wallace denies allegations he walked around set naked with a sock on his penis, but said that reports of inappropriate jokes were “probably true; some of what’s been said sounds like the sort of comments I’d have made”.
He also called allegations that he had groped crew members “absolutely not true”.
He also said he was diagnosed with autism during the investigation, adding: “I want to make it absolutely clear I’m not blaming my behaviour on my diagnosis, but it does explain a hell of a lot to me.”
He says a senior executive from MasterChef contacted him after making the “middle-class women of a certain age” comment on social media, and that production company Banijay UK arranged for a crisis mentor to support him after he said he was thinking about suicide.
The BBC is yet to comment on the interview. It is understoodf they will not be commenting while Banijay continues its investigation into the claims.
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