2 weeks Ago
The MasterChef presenter has stepped away from presenting the cooking programme and is “committed to fully co-operating throughout the process”, said a statement from the show’s production company, Banijay UK, to the PA news agency. Taking to his Instagram stories today (December 1), Wallace has said the complaints have come from “middle-class women of a certain age”. Gregg Wallace believes complaints are from 'middle-class women' He said: "Now, I've been doing MasterChef for 20 years - amateur, celebrity and professional MasterChef and I think 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. A post shared by Gregg Wallace MBE (@greggawallace) "Now, 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.
" He added a second video in which he says: "In over 20 years of television, can you imagine how many women, female contestants on Masterchef, have made sexual remarks, or sexual innuendo, can you imagine?" Banijay UK’s statement said: “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. “While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process.
A post shared by MasterChef UK (@masterchefuk) “Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set. “Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.” The statement added: “If anyone would like to talk to us or raise any issues or concerns, then they can contact speakup@banijayuk.
com in confidence.” A BBC spokesman said: “We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them. Recommended reading: “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.” The broadcaster is best known for co-presenting the popular cooking show MasterChef alongside John Torode since 2005, as well as its spin-offs Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals..
