Anita Rani has slammed Gregg Wallace after his “middle class women” rant following his suspension from MasterChef.
The 60-year-old faces allegations from 13 people across a range of shows over a 17-year period with many others since sharing their experiences.
He was forced to apologise after a backlash for claiming online that the allegations of inappropriate behaviour came from a “handful of middle-class women of a certain age".
Countryfile host Anita Rani was among those taking aim at Wallace over the comments, sharing a quote on Instagram which read: “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**k. With long memories.”
Wallace has apologised over the comments, which were described by Downing Street on Monday as “inappropriate and misogynistic”.
In an apology issued on Monday on Instagram, the TV presenter said: "I want to apologise for any offence that I caused with my post yesterday and any upset I may have caused to a lot of people.
"I wasn't in a good headspace when I posted it, I've been under a huge amount of stress, a lot of emotion, I felt very alone, under siege yesterday when I posted it.
"It's obvious to me I need to take some time out, now, while this investigation is underway I hope you understand and I do hope you will accept this apology."
The Prime Minister’s spokesperson 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.”
London MP Rupa Huq has called for screenings of MasterChef to be "paused" immediately while Wallace is investigated.
However, a pre-recorded episode of MasterChef: The Professionals aired on BBC One on Monday evening, with the BBC saying that the programme is "life-changing for the chefs that take part and the show is about more than one individual."
BBC viewers quickly took to social media to complain about the presenter’s appearance, with one MasterChef fan quipping that it was a “shame Gregg Wallace couldn't be edited out”. Another viewer described how it was “near impossible to watch the show”.
Ms Huq said the continued broadcasting of the cooking show could be "triggering" for the women who have made complaints as she urged the BBC to send a "strong signal".
Ms Huq, who is the MP for Ealing Central and Acton and a member of Parliament's Culture, Media and Sport Committee, told Radio 4's Today: "I think possibly there is an argument for pausing while this investigation takes its course, and maybe not airing it tonight."
"It could be massively triggering for the women involved - in fact to any woman involved in any type of similar incident," Ms Huq, who is the sister of former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq, added.
"To the casual viewer, if it’s on TV tonight, it looks like he got away with it. I think the BBC should send a strong signal."
Wallace has stepped back from presenting MasterChef after accusations he aimed sexual and lewd remarks towards staff and celebrity guests on a range of programmes.
He has denied behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.
Further Masterchef episodes are still scheduled to run on Tuesday and Thursday, while a Christmas special is also due to be broadcast later this month.
There are also more than 250 episodes of previous programmes featuring Wallace available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
Wallace's comment that accusations of inappropriate behaviour against him came from "a handful of middle-class women of a certain age" led to wide-ranging criticism.
Ulrika Jonsson, who competed on Celebrity MasterChef in 2017, said she was "seething" while Kirstie Allsopp described his response as "unacceptable".
In a post on Instagram on Sunday, 60-year-old Wallace said: "I've been doing MasterChef for 20 years, amateur, celebrity and professional MasterChef, and I think, in that time, I have worked with over 4,000 contestants of all different ages, all different backgrounds, all walks of life.
"Apparently now, I'm reading in the paper, there's been 13 complaints in that time.
"I can see the complaints coming from a handful of middle-class women of a certain age, just from Celebrity MasterChef.
"This isn't right.
"In 20 years, over 20 years of television, can you imagine how many women, female contestants on MasterChef, have made sexual remarks, or sexual innuendo? Can you imagine?"
In a third video, Wallace claimed "absolutely none" of the people he had worked with on his shows had made a complaint about him.
Jonsson, who competed on Celebrity MasterChef in 2017 and claimed Wallace had been forced to apologise for one comment, told the Telegraph: "When he made reference to women of a certain age I was just seething... I was just absolutely wild."
Allsopp, who alleged Wallace once made a comment to her about his sex life which left her "so embarrassed" she thought she "might cry", said she was angered by the video.
"That is unacceptable. Because he is essentially saying this is a class issue and middle-class women don't understand the type of things he says because he's working-class. Well I'm sorry, but he's doing an incredible disservice to men," she told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend.
"What's he saying? That working-class men do this kind of thing, embarrass their wives and girlfriends and sisters and mothers? That's unacceptable, of course, that's not the case."
The head of a TV workers' union said on Monday that reports of the BBC's handling of complaints are "deeply troubling".
The Bectu union, which represents more than 40,000 staff, contract and freelance workers in the media and entertainment industries, says reports on the way in which complaints have previously been handled by the BBC will make others worried about speaking out.
In a statement sent to Sky News, Bectu's head Philippa Childs said that "misogyny, intimidation, ageism and sexual harassment should have no place" in modern workplaces, but "time and again we see that these issues continue to run rampant in the creative industries - propped up by inadequate reporting mechanisms, a lack of accountability and an industry that enables extreme power dynamics and 'untouchable' talent".
She continued: "Reports that the BBC previously internally investigated complaints about Wallace and concluded that aspects of his behaviour were unacceptable are deeply troubling - is it any wonder that film and TV freelancers, many of them worrying about their next job, think twice about sticking their head above the parapet?
"Unless the industry draws a line in the sand and collectively takes meaningful action, we will be in the same place next week, in 6 months, a year's time. Historical allegations will continue to surface, alongside revelations that someone knew, but complaints were inadequately dealt with at the time."
In response to reports that multiple complaints had been raised with the BBC, a source for the corporation said it would not comment on individuals or any internal HR processes, but that it would be "wrong to report the BBC has done nothing if or when matters have been raised with us - not least because it is already being widely reported there were interventions in both 2017 and 2018 where action was taken".
Allegations were also raised by staff members about Wallace's behaviour on Channel 5's Gregg Wallace's Big Weekends to BBC News, with producer Rumpus Media saying it would be investigating allegations of "inappropriate behaviour".
In an updated statement on Monday evening, a spokesperson from production company Rumpus Media said: “We’ve undertaken a close review of the production of Gregg Wallace’s Big Weekends Away which finished in 2021 when Rumpus was under different ownership.
“We don’t tolerate inappropriate behaviour and the welfare of our colleagues is a priority.
“If any crew member from this production would like to get in touch regarding their experience we would encourage them to email talktous_rumpus@stv.tv on a confidential basis.”
MasterChef producer Banijay UK has confirmed it has appointed law firm Lewis Silkin to lead an investigation into Wallace's alleged behaviour.
