MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace is facing a barrage of criticism after several women, including Celebrity MasterChef contestants, accused him of ‘inappropriate behaviour’.
The 60-year-old TV personality has refuted claims that he made inappropriate sexual remarks. Following the announcement of an impending investigation into the allegations, Sir Rod Stewart branded Wallace a “tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully”, alleging that Gregg had bullied his wife, Penny Lancaster, during her stint on the show.
Emma Kennedy, who won Celebrity MasterChef in 2012, has also come forward with allegations that Wallace inappropriately touched an assistant, which has sparked widespread reaction, the Mirror reports.
Additionally, television personality Ulrika Jonsson alleges another female contestant overheard Wallace making a ‘rape joke’ on MasterChef. Amidst these claims, Wallace has expressed his intention to fully cooperate with the BBC’s investigation, as confirmed by a statement from Banijay UK, the production company behind the show.
He has temporarily stepped down from his role on MasterChef during the inquiry. On Sunday morning, Wallace took to social media to refute the accusations, suggesting they were made by “middle-class women of a certain age”, a comment which prompted Jonsson to retort that his “ignorance and arrogance knows no bounds”.
Lawyers for Wallace have stated unequivocally that “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.
Here are all the specific accusations involving Celebrity MasterChef contestants.
Kirsty Wark
Complaints against MasterChef’s Greg Wallace include remarks from former contestant Kirsty Wark, known for her role in BBC Newsnight. She recounted how during the 2011 series he made “sexualised” jokes on set.
Wark told BBC News earlier this week that the comments were completely out of place, with crew and fellow contestants as witnesses. Finishing second that year, Kirsty expressed thoughts about diving into the restaurant business.
In a 2012 BBC radio interview, she revealed: “I have registered a domain name of Kirsty’s Kitchen. I don’t know exactly what I will do with it yet. It would be fun.”
Penny Lancaster
Model Penny participated in the celebrity edition of the BBC cooking show in 2021, but only made it as far as the quarter finals. Despite impressing hosts Wallace and John Torode with some of her dishes, her butternut squash ravioli was delivered 10 minutes late.
Viewers watched as Wallace told Penny: ‘Mate, we can’t be 10 minutes late,” referring to her delay as “serious”. However, Penny stood her ground, retorting: “Well, we’re going to have to be, otherwise I won’t have a dish. ” Later, she confessed: “Everything piled on top of me. I just hope the wait was worth it. ”
A representative for Penny recently disclosed that she is ready to approach the authorities. Speaking to Mail Online, they stated: “While Penny is happy to talk to the appropriate authorities should they feel she has anything useful to add, she will not be discussing the matter with any broadcaster or newspaper at this time.”
Following the release of these revelations, Sir Rod Stewart vented on Instagram about Wallace, branding the chef a “tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully.”
His post blasted: “So Greg Wallace gets fired from Masterchef. Good riddance Wallace…You humiliated my wife when she was on the show but you had that bit cut out didn’t you? You’re a tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully. Karma got ya. Sir Rod Stewart.”
Ulrika Jonsson
Ulrika Jonsson also made an allegation about Wallace on her Instagram Stories. The 57-year-old TV presenter and model claimed another female contestant heard Wallace make a ‘rape joke’ on MasterChef.
The Swedish-British star, who appeared on the show in 2017, alleged that she felt like she was being ‘made a liar of’ after Gregg’s lawyers insisted that all the claims were ‘entirely false’.
In a revealing Instagram story, she alleged that numerous crew members on Masterchef were aware of Gregg’s misconduct but remained silent due to job security fears, stating: “Plenty of crew on set who would not dare to speak up for fear of losing their jobs. ”
In an interview with the Telegraph, Jonsson recounted an incident involving another female contestant who was visibly upset by Wallace’s supposed comments. She described how she witnessed the woman exiting the set and upon inquiry, learned about the purported ‘rape joke’.
Jonsson said: “She then told us that Gregg Wallace had made a rape joke. She was really distressed about it. ” The contestant shared the details of the joke with Jonsson and subsequently decided to report the matter to a producer.
Jonsson continued: “They then went off to speak to Gregg,” and added that Wallace later approached with a remorseful demeanour. “After a while he came up…and he apologised. He could hardly get his words out… He was apologising, and he had tears in his eyes. ”
Ulrika has lashed out at Gregg, calling him “ignorant and arrogant” following his video where he suggested that the complaints against him were made by “middle-class women of a certain age.” In her words to The Sun, she expressed her fury: “I am nothing short of seething. Somewhere in his misogynistic, thoughtless, ancient mind he felt it appropriate to tell the world this. Oh, Gregg. Your ignorance and arrogance knows no bounds.
“Firstly, you have no clue what ‘class’ of women it is that have made complaints about you. What we can ascertain is that they are a shed-load classier than you will ever be.”
Charlotte Crosby
Geordie Shore’s Charlotte Crosby, who was on the latest Celebrity MasterChef, shared with her followers: “He was extremely unpleasant to me when I was on MasterChef. ”
She didn’t go into detail but had previously described her experience on the show while on the One Show: “There’s something about that space and that studio you feel like a little kid again. It’s horrible, all the lights are on you. The pressure – it’s really scary.There was a lot of emotion!”
Emma Kennedy
Emma Kennedy, the winner of Celebrity MasterChef in 2012, alleges she witnessed Gregg touch a photographer assistant’s bottom. She recounted her actions: “I told an assistant producer, I told a producer, and I told the head of PR at Masterchef.
“I got the sense that this was something that they were well used to, if I’m being honest, and that it was just a sort of ‘roll your eyes’, and well, ‘this is Gregg being Gregg’.”
Wallace’s legal team asserted forcefully: “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature. ” The BBC chimed in with their own position, stating: “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.
“It would be inappropriate for us to comment on anything that could form part of Banijay’s ongoing investigation or otherwise influence it.”
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