MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace accused of making ‘lesbian jokes constantly’
Gregg Wallace allegedly was “fascinated” by a staffer’s sexuality (David M. Benett/Dave Benett / Getty)
In one of the allegations he’s facing, TV presenter Gregg Wallace has been accused of making “lesbian jokes constantly” by a former member of staff on one of his travel shows.
Wallace, best-known for hosting MasterChef on BBC1, is at the centre of allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour around staff, including taking his shirt off to give them a “fashion show”, telling a junior staffer he was not wearing boxers and openly discussing sexual acts.
The unnamed lesbian member of staff alleged that Wallace was “fascinated” by her sexual orientation and the “logistics” of how it worked, asking her if she was “sure” she did not want to date men.
One of 13 people who have come forward with allegations about Wallace’s behaviour across a 17-year period, she also claimed the presenter talked about sex, domination and spanking, telling BBC News: “[It] was highly inappropriate.”
And Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark, who appeared on Celebrity MasterChef in 2011, has claimed Wallace made sexualised jokes throughout filming, which she felt were “really, really in the wrong place.”
Wark told BBC News that, while she had a “joyous” time filming the show, and the crew were “fantastic”, the “fly in the ointment, on occasion, was Gregg Wallace.”
She went on to say: “I think people were uncomfortable. We were essentially a captive audience. People looked embarrassed and just got on with their work. I was actually more angry than anything else because I thought it was so inappropriate. I thought was it was about power more than anything else, that he felt he could.”
Another unnamed staff member told the BBC that Wallace made inappropriate comments to her, including that his own wife was just two years older than her. This made her “uncomfortable”, she added.
“What am I meant to say in response to that?” she asked.
On another occasion, when she had to sort out a parking ticket for Gregg Wallace, he allegedly replied: “You can come to my car but can you handle the fact everyone will think you just got off with a celebrity?”
On Thursday (28 November), in the wake of the allegations, Masterchef‘s production company Banijay UK said Wallace would step away from his presenting role while an investigation took place.
He is said to be co-operating with the investigation and lawyers for the star have said the allegations were false.
In a statement about the allegations on social media, Gregg Wallace wrote: “I would like to thank all the people getting in touch, reaching out and showing their support. It’s good of you, thank you very much.”
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