Gregg Wallace fired from MasterChef as 50 people tell BBC of fresh allegations | 50 জন বিবিসিকে নতুন অভিযোগের কথা বলে গ্রেগ ওয়ালেস মাস্টারচেফ থেকে বরখাস্ত
Sacking comes before publication of report on claims about presenter’s behaviour
Gregg Wallace has been sacked as a MasterChef presenter, before the publication of a long-awaited report on a series of allegations about his behaviour.
Everything You Need to Know About Gregg Wallace
It comes as the BBC said it had been approached by more than 50 more people with fresh claims about the presenter after a series of allegations last year. They include allegations, denied by Wallace, of groping one co-worker and having pulled his trousers down in front of a second.
The new allegations come just days before the publication of a report on separate claims made last year. It led to MasterChef production company Banijay commissioning a report on Wallace, overseen by the law firm Lewis Silkin.
The new claims were made as Wallace admitted using inappropriate language but claimed to have been cleared of “the most serious and sensational accusations made against me”.
In a statement on social media, the former BBC presenter said he had now been diagnosed with autism. He said while his neurodiversity was discussed across “countless seasons of MasterChef”, he was given no protection.
Wallace repeatedly attacked the BBC in a furious Instagram post.“I will not go quietly,” Wallace wrote. “I will not be cancelled for convenience. I was tried by media and hung out to dry well before the facts were established. The full story of this incredible injustice must be told and it is very much a matter of public interest.”
BBC News previously said it had heard allegations of inappropriate sexual comments and inappropriate behaviour by 13 people who had worked with Wallace across a 17-year period.
The presenter first stepped away from his role on MasterChef nine months ago, after the BBC received complaints about his conduct. Among his accusers is the presenter Kirsty Wark, who was a Celebrity MasterChef contestant in 2011. She has alleged Wallace told “sexualised” jokes during filming.
In his new five-page statement, Wallace said he had opted to speak out before the Silkin report – a “decision I do not take lightly”.
“But after 21 years of loyal service to the BBC, I cannot sit in silence while my reputation is further damaged to protect others,” he said. “The Silkin report exonerates me of all the serious allegations which made headlines last year and finds me primarily guilty of inappropriate language between 2005 and 2018.
“I recognise that some of my humour and language, at times, was inappropriate. For that, I apologise without reservation. But I was never the caricature now being sold for clicks.”
Key Insights on Fired
He claimed he had been driven to “go public” because BBC News was “intending to platform legally unsafe accusations”. He accused the broadcaster of “no longer providing balanced and impartial public service journalism”.
Wallace accused MasterChef’s makers of turning on him, despite his personality once being regarded as a crucial part of the show. He said they had also failed to protect him, despite his likely neurodiversity.
“I was hired by the BBC and MasterChef as the cheeky greengrocer. A real person with warmth, character, rough edges and all,” he said. “For over two decades, that authenticity was part of the brand. Now, in a sanitised world, that same personality is seen as a problem.
“My neurodiversity, now formally diagnosed as autism, was suspected and discussed by colleagues across countless seasons of MasterChef.
“Yet nothing was done to investigate my disability or protect me from what I now realise was a dangerous environment for over 20 years. That failure is now being quietly buried.”
Advanced Analysis of From
The BBC reported that the majority of new allegations were about claimed inappropriate comments. However, it said 11 women accused him of inappropriate sexual behaviour such as groping and touching. Wallace has denied the allegations.
Among the new allegations were claims that Wallace took his trousers down in front of a woman in a dressing room, which she described as “disgusting and predatory”. She worked on MasterChef between 2011 and 2013. At the time, it was produced by Shine, a company now owned by Banijay.
She claimed to have reported what had happened, but said she was told by staff who were more senior: “You’re over 16. You’re not being ‘Jimmy Saviled’.”
A participant on Saturday Kitchen claimed that during a 2002 dinner before filming, Wallace put his hand on her groin, saying: “Do you like that?” The BBC also reported that a 19-year-old MasterChef worker had tried to complain in 2022 about Wallace’s comments about her body.
A BBC spokesperson said: “Banijay UK instructed the law firm Lewis Silkin to run an investigation into allegations against Gregg Wallace. We are not going to comment until the investigation is complete and the findings are published.”
Banijay is not commenting on the report until it is officially published.
The BBC has already accepted a series of recommendations from an independent culture review, designed to tackle unacceptable behaviour by powerful figures.
Stay updated with TV shows and entertainment news in our Entertainment section.
Entertainment News at Your Fingertips
Get updates on TV shows, radio programs, and entertainment industry news.
Source: The Guardian
Author: Michael Savage Media editor
Publication Date: 2025-07-08T17:47:18Z
Category: Television & radio
Hello, my name is Jack Sparrow. I'm a 50 year old self-employed Pirate from the Caribbean.
No comments:
Post a Comment