Further accusations made against MasterChef star Gregg Wallace
Further accusations have been made against TV presenter Gregg Wallace in the wake of him stepping away from hosting hit BBC show MasterChef while a review into complaints is carried out.
On Thursday, the cooking programme’s production company Banijay UK said the BBC received complaints from individuals in relation to “historical allegations of misconduct” while working with Wallace.
He is “committed to fully co-operating throughout the process”, the company also said.
There were reports on Friday evening in news outlets such as The Sun newspaper about other alleged behaviour by Wallace.
Earlier in the day, the charity Ambitious About Autism said it had dropped him as an ambassador citing the “recent allegations”.
On Thursday, Wallace thanked his followers in an Instagram video, saying: “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.”
That same day, BBC News reported the 60-year-old faces allegations from 13 people across a range of shows over a 17-year period, including former Newsnight host Kirsty Wark.
The TV star’s lawyers say “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”, BBC News reported.
A BBC spokesman said it takes any issues raised “seriously” and “any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated”.
“It would be inappropriate for us to comment on anything that could form part of Banijay’s ongoing investigation or otherwise influence it,” the corporation also said.
After allegations raised by staff members about Wallace’s behaviour on Gregg Wallace’s Big Weekends to BBC News, Channel 5 asked the programme’s production company Rumpus Media to look into the accusations.
Rumpus Media said: “We do not tolerate inappropriate behaviour on our productions.
“Our comprehensive duty of care processes were in place during production of these series and any matters raised would have been investigated in accordance with these.”
Wallace is best known for co-presenting MasterChef alongside John Torode since 2005, as well as its spin-offs Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals.