Gregg 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:
– 2012
Actor and author Emma Kennedy said she complained about Wallace to MasterChef’s production firm after he allegedly touched another woman’s bottom.
Kennedy, who won the seventh edition of Celebrity MasterChef, wrote on Threads on Friday: “I complained about behaviour I witnessed on MasterChef in 2012. They knew then. They knew before then and they’ve known since.”
She added: “Later, after we had finished that series, we all went to the Good Food show. I had a lengthy conversation with a member of the PR team on MC and the only topic of conversation was ‘when the problem with GW was going to come to light’. This was in 2012.”
– 2014 & 2015
Producer Georgia Harding, who worked on MasterChef between 2014 and 2015 and later 2015’s Eat Well For Less, claimed she raised concerns about “inappropriate” behaviour from Wallace while working on the show, The Sunday Telegraph reported.
She alleged the presenter undressed in front of colleagues and “made inappropriate sexual jokes” in front of the crew and people appearing on the shows, and said “nothing was done” about concerns raised, claiming there was “an acceptance” of his behaviour and “nothing was done”.
– 2017
Broadcaster Aasmah Mir, who appeared on the twelfth series of Celebrity MasterChef, reportedly complained about inappropriate comments Wallace allegedly made during filming in a letter.
After the letter was forwarded in November 2017 to BBC executive Kate Phillips, who now oversees unscripted programmes for the broadcaster, she said his behaviour on set was “unacceptable and cannot continue”, the Sunday Times reported.
She added she would make sure that she was “informed straight away” if further allegations were made against Wallace.
Wallace also allegedly had to apologise after making a “rape joke” when filming series 12 of Celebrity MasterChef, which aired in 2017, which caused another female contestant to become “really distressed”.
Model Ulrika Jonsson, who compete in the series, recently also told The Telegraph she did not hear the joke but said that when another contestant walked off the set, she was told what had occurred.
– 2018
Wallace is said to have received another warning after a complaint was raised about his behaviour on the quiz show Impossible Celebrities.
A BBC probe at the time found his behaviour was “unacceptable and unprofessional”, and a 90-minute meeting was held between Wallace and Phillips, according to BBC News.
– 2019
Women who worked on Gregg Wallace’s Big Weekends in 2019, which aired on Channel 5, recalled to BBC News recently that Wallace had made a number of inappropriate comments to staff members during production.
One woman, who BBC News has called Anna, said he reportedly talked about sex, domination and spanking, and that he was “fascinated” that she dated women and asked her the “logistics” of how it worked.
Another woman, who BBC News has called Amanda, said Wallace allegedly showed her photos of a woman in her underwear while they were travelling in a car together.
Meanwhile, a woman who BBC News has named Georgina, reportedly worked with the TV presenter on BBC’s Eat Well For Less TV show in 2019 and recalled him making comments on how his wife was only two years older than her.
She also told the outlet that after she went to his car to sort his parking ticket, he allegedly replied: “You can come to my car, but can you handle the fact everyone will think you just got off with a celebrity?”
– 2022
Producer and director Dawn Elrick claims to have sent the BBC a letter which accused Wallace of making lewd comments and asking for the personal phone numbers of female production staff.
Elrick told the Observer the letter had been submitted with the support of industry union Bectu and added she also submitted the allegations to the corporation via Navex Global, an external whistleblowing service.
She claimed the BBC suggested each individual would have to make their own, direct complaint to the corporation and said she had received no further contact with regard to the report.
Wallace was made an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for his services to food and charity.
– November 28 2024
It was announced Wallace is to step away from presenting MasterChef while complaints made to the BBC by individuals about historical allegations of misconduct are investigated by the show’s production company, Banijay UK.
BBC News later reported that 13 people across a range of shows over a 17-year period have told them about allegations of inappropriate sexual comments by Wallace, including former Newsnight host Kirsty Wark.
In an Instagram post, Wallace thanked those who have been “reaching out and showing their support”.
Sir Rod Stewart took to Instagram following the accusations, accusing Wallace of “humiliating” his wife Penny Lancaster on Celebrity MasterChef in 2021.
The veteran singer described the TV presenter as a “ill-mannered bully”, signing the statement off: “Karma got ya. Sir Rod Stewart”.
Geordie Shore star Charlotte Crosby, who appeared on Celebrity MasterChef this year, commented on Sir Rod’s post writing: “He was extremely unpleasant to me when I was on MasterChef.”
– November 29 2024
A Downing Street spokesman said the allegations about Wallace were “deeply concerning” and that it was “right that a thorough investigation is conducted” in a statement.
The Telegraph’s restaurant critic William Sitwell said he was “astonished” at the allegations being made against Wallace in a comment piece in the newspaper, describing him as an “interesting, funny, exhausting and outrageous”.
– November 30 2024
Banijay UK announced it had appointed law firm Lewis Silkin to lead an investigation into Wallace’s alleged misconduct.
It was reported that Channel 5 had asked production company Rumpus Media to look into the accusations about Wallace during production of Gregg Wallace’s Big Weekends.
Rumpus Media said: “We do not tolerate inappropriate behaviour on our productions. Our comprehensive duty-of-care processes were in place during production of these series and any matters raised would have been investigated in accordance with these.”
– December 1 2024
Wallace said accusations about him making sexual comments towards staff and guests have come from “middle-class women of a certain age” in a video posted to Instagram.
In another video, he claimed “absolutely none” of the people he had worked with on his shows had made a complaint about him.
This sparked a backlash, with former Celebrity MasterChef contestants Ulrika Jonsson, Kirstie Allsopp and Emma Kennedy among those who criticised his response.
– December 2 2024
Downing Street branded Wallace’s response to the accusations being made against him as “inappropriate and misogynistic”.
It was announced that Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy had held talks with BBC bosses to address the Wallace row, according to the Prime Minister’s official spokesman.
Following the backlash, Wallace apologised for any “offence” or “upset” he caused with his remarks and said he will now “take some time out” while the investigation is under way.
He added: “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.”
