Gregg Wallace announced a new business venture just days before being replaced by Grace Dent on MasterChef.
The 60-year-old TV chef stepped down from the BBC show following ongoing controversy over allegations of inappropriate behaviour on MasterChef, which he denies.
Before being replaced by Grace on the celebrity edition of the show, Gregg announced he was preparing to launch a new range of ready meals, reports the Mirror.
In November, he posted on his blog: “It was another busy week in London filming the new series of MasterChef. On your televisions at the moment, you’ve got the wonderful Professional MasterChef. And what incredible talent on display this year.
“It really is such an honour to watch the next generation of talented chefs coming through. ‘I have been working for quite a while now on frozen ready meals from the GreggWallace.health range of recipes. These will be available to members only at the start.
“Let’s see how we get on. I have managed to have some time at home and did some cooking. It’s a habit I want to get back in to – cooking for the family once a week is something that I really enjoy.”
Gregg has a lot more time on his hands now that his future on MasterChef is uncertain, as a source told The Sun that the presenter admitted he was ‘f****d’ after the allegations.
The TV personality has been accused of making ‘inappropriate sexual jokes’ among other behavioural complaints. However the dad-of-three’s lawyer states: “It is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.
Following the allegations, Gregg apologised for his comments suggesting that complaints about his conduct came from “a handful of middle-class women of a certain age”.
Posting on social media, he said: “I want to apologise for any offence that I caused with my post yesterday and any upset I may have caused to a lot of people.”
Grace is taking over for Gregg on Celebrity MasterChef, and she couldn’t be happier to get the role. In a statement, she said hosting the show was “more than a dream to me” and expressed feeling “very lucky” to take on the role.
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Meanwhile, Gregg’s co-star, John Torode, who has not spoken out in defence of his former colleague, said: “I have loved working with Grace on MasterChef over the years. She has been an excellent guest, an inspiring critic and also set some incredible challenges. ‘Expertise is what MasterChef is all about, from the contestants to our wonderful production team, to us as judges.
“The love of food, the love of MasterChef, and that unquestionable expertise, makes Grace the perfect person to step in alongside me as judge for the forthcoming Celebrity MasterChef series.”
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