'I WAS HORRIFIED'
Gregg Wallace ‘sexual comments’ probe is ‘tip of the iceberg’ & MasterChef has ‘toxic environment’, ex-contestant claims
An investigation into the allegations is underway
A FORMER MasterChef contestant has claimed Gregg Wallace's "sexual comments" probe is just the "tip of the iceberg".
The ex-contestant, who did not wish to be identified, also claimed the show had a "toxic environment" and that he considered quitting it on his first day.
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He alleged the "abuse" of contestants was widespread through the "production team", but was too scared to speak out after signing a non-disclosure agreement.
It comes as Wallace today took to Instagram to label his accusers as "middle-class women of a certain age" in a clumsy attempt to defend himself.
He was then told to "shut up and listen" by several of his TV peers.
Speaking to , the unnamed contestant said: "I was horrified. I'd never seen anything like it, genuinely, I was really quite shocked at that really toxic environment.
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"What I witnessed… as a contestant was that there was a systemic problem that was larger than just him, in my view.
"Gregg… would occasionally crack jokes that in different ways felt inappropriate but he wasn't the only one."
Wallace has stepped back from presenting the BBC cooking show MasterChef following allegations he made sexual remarks towards staff and celebrity guests over a 17-year period.
Broadcaster Kirsty Wark is among 13 people who have made claims, with Wallace being investigated by MasterChef's production company Banijay UK.
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This comes as MasterChef contestant, Aasmah Mir, claimed she warned the BBC about his behaviour seven years ago.
The Times Radio host says she complained to BBC executives about inappropriate comments allegedly made by Wallace when she appeared on Celebrity MasterChef in 2017.
Gregg Wallace slams 'middle-class women' for making complaints about him
She accused the presenter of sexist behaviour on set that was "unacceptable" and said it should not continue.
Despite reporting this to the BBC in 2017, Wallace allegedly went on to demean women for a further six years.
An email to the broadcaster by Aasmah expressed how she didn't want to feel guilt if further allegations were to emerge in the future.
She how she also sent another email which told the corporation: "This must not happen again to another woman".
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.
"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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His Instagram comments were discussed by a panel with Victoria Derbyshire, who was filling in for the regular host on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, earlier this morning.
When quizzed about the post, TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall said: "I think the intervention is not wise. I don't know Gregg well, I've met him a couple of times.
"He's very likeable. He's a very professional screen presence.
"I have a very talented chef on Masterchef right at the moment, and she's doing incredibly well, and I've been really enjoying watching her and enjoying Gregg's presenting.
"I think it's likely that Gregg has what we might call a bawdy sense of humour. Clearly, that's offended people.
"I think one of the issues is that down the years people have not felt able to tell him when he might want to rein it in a bit, and clearly he's crossed some lines."
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.
He continued: "In terms of how he's going about defending himself.
"I understand the instinct when you feel you're backed into a corner, but I don't think it's smart to come out talking like that when at the moment he should probably be listening more questions for the BBC."
Lord Craig Mackinlay then waded in on the debate, with the former MP saying: "I don't know him. He was well on the way of becoming a national treasure with the type of programmes he's doing. Is he, bawdy? Is he a bit laddish?
"I think the barrier has moved over the years, and perhaps he is overstretched into lewd behaviour, sexual behaviour, but that is for the investigation to look into, and I agree with you.
"Probably at the moment he's best to shut up and see where it goes."
Wallace has also faced scrutiny from other TV stars after the allegations were revealed and his subsequent statement.
Location, Location, Location presenter Kirsty Allsopp also slammed Wallace in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, in which he relived a meeting with the grocer-turned-TV star
She said: "Within 1hr of meeting Gregg Walllace he told me of a sex act that he & his partner at the time enjoyed 'every morning', she’d just left the room, we were filming a pilot.
"Did he get off on how embarrassed I was? It was totally unprofessional, I’m a #MiddleClassWomanOfaCertainAge."
Former MP Anna Soubry was among those to pan the star for his comments, writing on X: "‘It’s yer ‘ormones luv’ Gregg 2gs Wallace proving he’s not an odious misogynist."
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Former Scottish Conservative leader, Dame Ruth Davidson has also hit out at Wallace.
In a post on X, she commented: "I mean, this is going to be taught in future years as a stellar example of how **not** to do defensive comms. My God."
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