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'You're not in trouble'

Gregg Wallace urges fellow abuse victims to speak out after darts ace Eric Bristow mocks sexually abused footballers

The MasterChef presenter made his plea on Loose Women as the panel discussed his own abuse as a child

MASTERCHEF'S Gregg Wallace has pleaded with fellow abuse victims to speak out after discussing his own abuse as a child.

The presenter spoke as he joined the Loose Women panel to discuss recent comments made by darts ace Eric Bristow who mocked sexually abused footballers on Twitter.

Gregg Wallace appeared on Loose Women and urged young abuse victims to speak out
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Gregg Wallace appeared on Loose Women and urged young abuse victims to speak outCredit: ITV
His plea followed Eric Bristow's comments labelling footie sex victims as 'wimps'
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His plea followed Eric Bristow's comments labelling footie sex victims as 'wimps'Credit: Getty Images
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Gregg, 52, who revealed he was abused as a child in his autobiography Life on a Plate, teared up as he recalled: "You feel guilty, you feel like you’re playing some part in it – sorry I’m getting a bit emotional – and of course you haven’t."

Handing out advice to any person in a similar situation, he went on: "You have to speak up, you're not in trouble, you haven’t done anything wrong.

"You're a child, you don’t know what's happening.

"You're just a part of this – it's being done to you."

Eric has been dropped as a Sky sport pundit for his comments during which he labelled footie sex victims as "wimps" and claimed that the victims of the emerging football sex abuse scandal were not “proper men” like “tough guy” darts stars.

Gregg simply described his words as "very silly".

The MasteChef presenter got emotional as he recalled his own abuse
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The MasterChef presenter got emotional as he recalled his own abuseCredit: ITV
Gregg originally revealed his abuse in his autobiography
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Gregg originally revealed his abuse in his autobiographyCredit: ITV

Explaining why he chose to speak out about his abuse, Gregg added: "I wanted people to know because it happens because it’s people that you like and that you're close to - it's not someone standing in a mac in an alleyway.

"It's someone whose appearance to the rest of the world is that of a decent person.

"It’s an awful thing."


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