MasterChef judges Marcus Wareing and Monica Galetti have remained tight-lipped after their colleague Gregg Wallace stepped back from the BBC culinary show amidst misconduct allegations, despite having previously shared candid insights about working alongside him.
The 60-year-old TV host is currently embroiled in controversy, facing claims of inappropriate sexual remarks from 13 individuals over a span of 17 years.
Speaking ahead of MasterChef: The Professionals’ 15th series in 2023, Monica had quipped about the stress of working with Gregg contributing to Marcus’s greying hair, saying: “But I think we all get that for a year working with Gregg.”
She also mentioned missing Gregg’s humour until filming commenced, noting that she and Marcus often didn’t grasp his jokes immediately, leading to repeated explanations, Birmingham Live reports.
Marcus himself acknowledged occasional clashes with Gregg, stating: “If it was just me and Monica, then we’re good at predicting the winner, but because Gregg is in the mix, it f***s it all up a bit. We have times where we do disagree but everyone’s entitled to their point of view.”
He went on to describe how he has mellowed over time, contrasting his current attitude with past fervour: “There are three votes and in the early days I’d be fighting like a cat in a bag but now it’s like, ‘Whatever.'”
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Meanwhile, fellow co-star John Torode has also refrained from commenting on the allegations against Gregg. However, in a 2017 interview with The Sunday Mirror, he had frankly stated: “It’s funny, we’ve never been friends. We’ve not been to each other’s houses… He’s so OCD, he wouldn’t know what to do.
“He would build up the anxiety for three days, making himself ill, then have a row with his wife and fail to show up. If I visited his home, he’d feel like he was losing control.”
Gregg has denied all allegations against him. The presenter is accused of making ‘inappropriate sexual jokes’, requesting phone numbers from female production staff, and undressing in front of or standing too close to women working on his shows.
In a video on his Instagram page, the 60-year-old said: “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.
“Apparently now, I’m reading in the paper, there’s been 13 complaints in that time. 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.
“In 20 years, 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? “
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