MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace reveals how battle with baldness knocked his confidence after losing hair aged 18
MASTERCHEF’s Gregg Wallace reveals he was “really troubled” when he started losing his hair aged only 17.
In an exclusive interview, Gregg, 56, explained: “You know, I’ve been bald since I was 18. I started losing my hair at 17 and I’ve been completely bald since 20 years old.
“It really troubled me back then. In fact, my oldest mate said, ‘Gregg I have to confess. When that happened I used to think, oh I’ll stop hanging about with him when he’s bald’.
“And it really troubled me at that age.”
But now the telly host embraces the fact he is bald - and said his wife-of-four-years Anne-Marie Sterpini, 35, would not want for him to have hair.
He quipped: “I was going to get a hair transplant but my wife said I would look silly with a kidney on my head.
“I actually think I’m lucky. Because blokes who lose their hair at a later age, in their thirties and forties, get hung up about it. Because they had hair and then lose it.
“But I’ve never had that problem. I’ve never had hair as an adult.
“I’ve been this way all of my life.
“And look at Mrs Wallace, my bald head certainly hasn’t stopped me attracting my beautiful wife.”
MasterChef returns to screens next week for its 17th series.
The competition will no doubt rest on a knife edge as the fresh set of cooks grab their aprons and show off their signature dishes in a bid to please the Aussie chef and EastEnd foodie - who calls himself “the spoon-for-hire”.
While Gregg revealed he is “never going to stop” presenting MasterChef and said “I expect to be doing that when I’m 90 years old” - he admitted he would love to have his own game show.
Yet, the tv personality joked his bald head may stop him nabbing that particular hosting gig.
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He said: “I want to have my own quiz show. I want to do a Saturday night, wear a suit and do one of those shiny floor shows.
“But they won’t let me! I think they’re looking for people with hair. I think that’s what it is. I think my hair lets me down.
“Because I was really good on Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel. I was Top Celeb. There’s only a short step I think from being Top Celeb to hosting it.”
The new series of MasterChef begins March, 1, 9pm on BBC1.