HUGH FURY
Now Gregg Wallace’s TV chef colleagues turn on him as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall blasts ‘he’s crossed a line’
Wallace claimed complaints against him come from 'middle class women of a certain age'
GREGG Wallace's TV chef colleagues are turning against him as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall slammed "he's crossed a line".
The MasterCheft host, 60, has been told to "shut up and listen"; by fellow stars after he ranted about his alleged misconduct accusers.
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Wallace hit back on Instagram and claimed complaints against him have come from "middle class women of a certain age".
It comes as at least 13 people have officially complained about Wallace’s conduct while working with him over a 17-year period across five shows, from 2005 to 2022.
The presenter stepped away from MasterChef in light of the allegations.
Wallace has denied any behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.
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Since uploading his bizarre rant on social media, TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall said: "I think the intervention is 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.
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"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."
He continued: "In terms of how he's going about defending himself.
'Seething' Ulrika Jonsson slams Gregg Wallace as 'sexist, crude and sleazy' as furious backlash over host's 'middle-class women' video grows
"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."
In his Instagram Stories videos, Wallace had said: "I’ve been doing MasterChef for 20 years. Amateur, Celebrity and Professional MasterChef.
"And in that time, I have worked with over 4,000 contestants of all different ages, all different backgrounds, all walks of life.
"And apparently now, I’m 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."
This comes as it was today reported staff claim the BBC ignores serious complaints to save its own reputation - allowing "monumental f***-ups"; like Wallace.
It has emerged that the BBC was warned about Gregg's sexist behaviour at least five times over seven years.
BBC officials carried out an HR investigation in 2018 and spoke to the star multiple times about inappropriate comments.
Insiders told the Telegraph that the BBC seeks to "manage risk" rather than deal with reported problems, leading to "monumental f***-ups".
One said: "The priority is always to protect those most important to them."
Now other TV personalities have come forward and called Wallace out after his 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."
She added later on Radio 4 that his video rant about the complainants’ class was “unacceptable”.
Kirstie said: “I absolutely understand about banter. I’m a mother of sons - two stepsons, two sons. But there’s a huge difference between robust chat and the kind of comment Gregg Wallace made to me.”
Sun writer Ulrika Jonsson also called Wallace “ignorant and arrogant".
She had previously accused Wallace of making a rape “joke” on the set of Celebrity MasterChef in 2017.
She said yesterday: “I am nothing short of seething. Somewhere in his misogynistic, thoughtless, ancient mind he felt it appropriate to tell the world this.
“Oh, Gregg. Your ignorance and arrogance knows no bounds. Firstly, you have no clue what ‘class’ of women it is that have made complaints about you.
“What we can ascertain is that they are a shed-load classier than you will ever be.
“Secondly, when you refer to women ‘of a certain age’ that is normally a reference to my generation — Generation X, the older ones, the ones who are supposed to have gone into old age quietly.
“And yet, the irony of this is that we are probably the hardiest bunch out there because we have been brought up on a diet of sexist, misogynistic, crude and sleazy comments and physical contact that was always surplus to requirements by the likes of Wallace, all our working lives."
Meanwhile, Times Radio host Aasmah Mir said she complained at the time about an inappropriate comment Wallace made on Celebrity MasterChef in 2017.
She posted: “I put my first dish down in front of the judges and the cameras paused to reset. In front of everyone, Gregg Wallace told me to tell a colleague at the BBC ‘that she was a sexy b****’. “No one said anything. And yes I did complain.”
And, Harry Potter author JK Rowling posted: “If only his colleagues had all been young working-class women, ideally with little job security, none of this would have happened.”
In addition, Talk host Julia Hartley-Brewer added: “Spare a thought for Gregg Wallace’s PR agent waking up this morning,’ with a meme of Chandler from Friends shouting, ‘What did you just do?’”
MPs have also spoken out criticising Wallace's video message.
Independent MP Rosie Duffield said his rant “suggests he has no understanding of the potential offence caused to colleagues who probably felt powerless to speak up”.
Former Labour minister Baroness Harman also wrote online: “It’s not that standards have changed. Women always felt creeped out by predatory, lewd men.
"It’s just that now women feel able to challenge. Older, middle-class women more able to challenge than freelance junior women. It’s our duty.”
Amidst the backlash, former MP Anna Soubry wrote on X: "‘It’s yer ‘ormones luv’ Gregg 2gs Wallace proving he’s not an odious misogynist."
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."
MasterChef host Wallace is the subject of a probe after an investigation was launched into his alleged misconduct over a number of years.
Wallace has been accused of taking his top off in front of a female worker, saying he wanted to “give her a fashion show”, and talking about his sex life to others.
He also allegedly told one female colleague he was not wearing any boxer shorts under his jeans.
MasterChef production company, Banijay UK, 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.
Wallace’s lawyers say “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.
It emerged Celebrity MasterChef 2012 winner Emma Kennedy said she reported Wallace’s behaviour to a member of the production team but did not know if it was taken any further.
Georgia Harding, a MasterChef producer from 2014-15, said she also raised concerns about his behaviour but nothing was done.
Then in 2017, radio broadcaster Aasmah Mir went on the celebrity version and sent an email to Kate Phillips, now head of unscripted TV for the BBC, about Wallace’s inappropriate comments.
And the following year, Wallace was reportedly issued with a formal warning by the BBC following an HR probe.
In 2022, director and producer Dawn Elrick said she sent a letter to the corporation with a number of anonymised accounts from people alleging Wallace acted inappropriately.
The Sun on Sunday also told how a Nestlé executive had written to the BBC with concerns about Wallace’s behaviour while filming a 2023 episode of Inside The Factory.
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.
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.”
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