Gregg Wallace has addressed claims he was being investigated for making inappropriate comments to a female member of staff at the BBC.
The 59-year-old Masterchef star - who has been married to fourth wife Anne-Marie Sterpini since 2016 - was said to have faced "allegations about his conduct" in 2018 after he allegedly bragged about his personal life while working on gameshow Impossible Celebrities.
He has now insisted that he was cleared of it all at the time.
Discussing the situation in a video shared to Instagram, Wallace - who was awarded an MBE in 2023 - said: “Good morning. With reference to what's in the newspapers these allegations were investigated by the BBC six years ago.
“The allegations were investigated by the BBC six years ago, and my comments were found to be not sexual. I repeat not sexual.
“Something else that I feel very strongly about - strong enough to be on [Instagram] - nobody six years ago or since has accused me of flirting with anybody or hitting on anybody.
“And that's important to me and I say this for my wife Anna, who I've been true to and madly in love with since the day I met her. I don't want anybody to misunderstand this and make it look like I was flirting with somebody.
“Nobody accused me of that and I never have.”
The team member was said to have been “mortified” by the TV star’s alleged action, though he supposedly believed at the time that it was all “banter”.
A source told The Sun newspaper: “Gregg was accused of making inappropriate comments to a younger, female member of the production team.
“He is said to have been boasting about his sex life with his partner at the time. At one point, Gregg was also accused of taking his top off in front of the woman which felt inappropriate. Gregg appeared to think it was all just banter and is also said to have made some comments in front of the live audience.
“The team working on the show were mortified and told BBC top brass what had happened.”
According to reports, Wallace was told by bosses to “amend his behaviour” but the broadcaster doesn't comment on individuals and insisted that all issues are dealt with in a “swift” manner.
In a statement, the BBC said: “Whilst we do not comment on individuals, if issues are raised they are dealt with swiftly and appropriately at the time. We do not tolerate any form of inappropriate behaviour and have robust processes in place.”
The Standard has contacted a representative for Gregg Wallace for additional comment.
