Penny Lancaster has broken her silence on MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace after her husband, Sir Rod Stewart branded the presenter a “bully” due to his alleged treatment of her on the show.
The singer claimed that Wallace had “humiliated” his wife when she was a contestant on the show in 2021.
The accusations arrived after it was announced Wallace had stepped down from the BBC cookery competition following allegations of inappropriate sexual comments over several years. Wallace’s lawyers have denied all allegations against him.
Appearing on Loose Women on Thursday (12 December), Lancaster, 53, addressed the claims against Wallace for the first time. The model said: “I most definitely was witness and victim to some of the bullying and harassment behaviour of Gregg Wallace. And unfortunately, a lot of those in the production team were also witness to that.”
She added: “I really feel that he used his position of power to I believe intimidate and cause distress to a lot of people on set.
“And it’s really unfortunate that someone like him is allowed to get away with that while others stand by and let it happen at the same time. And it’s obvious that a lot of people have come forward.”
Lancaster also spoke about Stewart’s rant on Instagram, admitting that she didn’t know it had happened at the time as she was on jury duty.
“When I did turn my phone back on I got a message from a friend saying, ‘Oh my god, how amazing was that message your husband put out!’ And I was like ‘What message? What has he done?’” she explained.
Lancaster did defend the manner of Stewart’s outburst, saying: “My husband when he heard people talking about the disturbing behaviours, he couldn’t hold back. Protective husband thought, ‘I’m not going to stay silent I need to say something,’ because he realised how upset I was at the time.”
Among the 13 complainants about Wallace is former Newsnight host Kirsty Wark, who alleged he told jokes of a “sexualised nature” when she was competing on Celebrity MasterChef in 2011.
Lancaster admitted that she felt “vindicated” after she heard other people had come forward.
She added: “I was in shock and then I thought of all the repercussions of all that. Then a day or two afterwards I felt a little bit vindicated that something was put out there.
“Going back to that whole MeToo, it is shocking to think how many women do suffer at the hands of men in powerful positions and are too afraid to talk out and don’t feel at the time they are going to be supported or listened to.
“So sometimes it can take a few years later for someone to mention something and it gives the other victims and people that have suffered the confidence to come forward.”
Banijay UK, the production company behind Masterchef, has launched an investigation and said that Wallace is 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.”
A BBC spokesperson 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.”
The BBC has since decided to cancel the pre-recorded Celebrity MasterChef festive specials, with BBC News reporting that the celebrity contestants involved in the episodes have been “spoken to about the reasons behind the decision to pull the show”.
