BITTER JIBE
Gregg Wallace lashes out at ‘middle-class women of a certain age’ for complaining about him amid ‘sexual comments’ probe
The BBC is facing serious questions about why it took so long to act
GREGG Wallace has blasted "middle-class women of a certain age" for making complaints about him in a bizarre new Instagram post.
The MasterChef host is the subject of a probe after an investigation was launched into his alleged misconduct over a number of years.
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It comes after the TV chef was accused of making sexual remarks to 13 colleagues including Beeb presenter Kirsty Wark - accusations he denies.
Wallace, 60, has stepped away from the BBC show while historical misconduct allegations against him are investigated.
Now, Wallace has hit back against the accusations in another bizarre Instagram post.
He told his followers: "I have 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 and all walks of life.
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"And apparently now I am reading in the paper there’s been 13 complaints in that time.
"In the newspaper 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 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?"
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Wallace also spoke out on his Instagram story this morning.
He said: "Look this is important to me. 20 years of doing Celebrity MasterChef, amateur or professional, Eat well for less.
Watch creepy moment MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace tells ‘distressed’ Strictly star ‘I don’t wear underwear’ and grabs his crotch
"Do you know how many staff, all different sorts of staff, made a complaint about me in that time?
"Absolutely none. Zero. Seriously."
The cooking show’s production company, Banijay UK, yesterday said law firm Lewis Silkin would lead the investigation into Wallace’s alleged misconduct.
The BBC said it would be inappropriate to comment on anything that could form part of Banijay’s investigation.
The probe was launched into complaints against him spanning 17 years.
Wallace’s lawyers say “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.
One witness claimed the former green grocer, 60, walked into the studio naked apart from a "sock over his penis" then did a dance.
They also said he mimed a sex act as a worker knelt to clean his trousers.
The Sun revealed one former contestant even alleged the MasterChef judge groped her while she was cooking on the set of the show as the cameras rolled.
Another woman claims Wallace told her in a busy pub that she aroused him, made more lewd comments and squeezed her bum.
In a third allegation, Celebrity MasterChef contestant Emma Kennedy yesterday claimed she had seen co-host Wallace grope a camera assistant during a photoshoot for the 2012 finalists.
And a former staffer claimed he made offensive Asian remarks on set in 2017.
The Sun first reported Wallace’s behaviour last month.
On Thursday he stepped down while allegations of misconduct are investigated, while singer Sir Rod Stewart accused him of humiliating his wife Penny on the show.
In response to reports in the Times and Telegraph, a BBC source said: “While we are not going to comment on individuals or any internal HR processes, particularly when there is an ongoing process in place being run by Banijay who have the direct contractual relationship with Gregg Wallace.
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“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.
“We continue to urge caution about pre-judging any of this, particularly the involvement of BBC staff members and any inference they have not acted appropriately.”
Gregg Wallace's career to date
Gregg Wallace has been a familiar face on TV for years now thanks to his role as a judge on MasterChef - but let's take a closer look at his career so far...
- Gregg Wallace left school at 15 and started his career working on a fruit and veg stall in London.
- In 1989, he started George Allan's Greengrocers, a company that grew to a turnover of £7.5 million.
- Gregg's experience in the world of fruit and veg lead to him co-hosting Veg Talk on BBC Radio 4 with Charlie Hicks for seven years.
- He then became the first host of Saturday Kitchen in 2002, a role he held for a year before being replaced by Antony Worrall Thompson in 2003.
- At the same time, Gregg presented a number of food-related TV specials, including Veg Out for the Discovery Channel.
- Gregg landed his most notable TV role as a co-presenter and judge on BBC's competitive cooking show MasterChef in 2005. He stars alongside John Torode.
- In 2010 Gregg pursued another life-long dream of opening a restaurant. He opened the establishment Wallace & Co. in Putney.
- Then, in 2012, he opened Gregg's Bar & Grill in a joint venture with the Bermondsey Square Hotel.
- Gregg then scored a hosting gig with the BBC, presenting the documentary Supermarket Secrets in August 2013.
- Unfortunately, times were tough for Gregg, and in the same month, it was reported that one of his companies, West Veg Limited, had folded, owing more than £500,000.
- In 2014, both of his restaurants folded, with Wallace & Co owing suppliers £150,000.
- However, his TV career continued to thrive, and in 2015 became the regularly host of the award-winning documentary food series Eat Well for Less? Gregg helmed the show for eight years before stepping away.
- He also competed on Strictly Come Dancing.
- Gregg then made Telly history again when he revived the BBC's historical game show Time Commanders.
- More recently, the celebrity chef has presented a number of travel programmes such as Big Weekends with Gregg Wallace, South Africa with Gregg Wallace, and the food mockumentary, Gregg Wallace: The British Miracle Meat.
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