19 hours Ago By [email protected] (Joanna Berry)
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info On Thursday 29 November it was announced that Gregg Wallace would be stepping down from his role as co-host of MasterChef and in the evening, the presenter took to Instagram to speak to his followers.
Gregg is now the subject of an investigation by TV company Banijay UK, who makes the series, following historical accusations of misconduct. Filming from his home, Gregg said in his post: “I would like to thank all the people getting in touch, reaching out and showing their support. That’s good of you.
Thank you very much.” It is the only comment that Gregg has made since the investigation was announced on Thursday morning. A statement released by Banijay UK outlines that although complaints have been made to the BBC rather than directly to the production company, an external review will be conducted: "This week the BBC received complaints from individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with presenter Gregg Wallace on one of our shows.
"Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate." It continued: "While this review is underway, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully cooperating throughout the process." A BBC spokesperson commented: “We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them.
We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated. "Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them.” Since the news broke, it has emerged that 13 people, including former Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark , have accused the presenter of inappropriate sexual comments.
Newsnight stalwart Kirsty alleged that during filming of Celebrity MasterChef in 2011, Gregg made inappropriate "jokes of a sexualised nature" twice in the presence of crew and other participants. Divulging her experience to BBC News, she described the comments as "really, really in the wrong place". The allegations against Gregg include 13 people reporting inappropriate sexual comments made by him across multiple shows over 17 years.
BBC News has been informed of further allegations against the presenter, including him "talking openly about his sex life, taking his top off in front of a female worker saying he wanted to 'give her a fashion show', and telling a junior female colleague he was not wearing any boxer shorts under his jeans." These historical allegations of misconduct are now under investigation..
