Gregg Wallace once admitted he had brushes with the police in his younger days as a self-confessed football “hooligan”.
The former MasterChef presenter, who recently stepped down amid an investigation into historical allegations of misconduct at the BBC, previously opened up about his vehement support of Championship side Millwall FC. Wallace shed light on the south London club’s “fierce reputation”, as well as his own trouble with the law as a match-going fan.
Speaking in an interview with Zoo magazine in 2008, he said: “I was brought up in Peckham and went to Millwall regularly. Some of my friends from school grew up to be hooligans.
“Millwall had a fierce reputation at the time, which was well deserved. They had a large percentage of people that were able to cause havoc! I got arrested for assault when I was 20 – but my Millwall days are long behind me.
“I was a product of my area. Police were making hundreds of arrests at every home game back then. Getting nicked was like a social pastime!”
Despite distancing himself from hooliganism, his loyalty to Millwall remains strong, as shown by the lion tattoo representing the club’s crest proudly inked on his chest. Aged 60, Wallace is now facing allegations of inappropriate sexual comments from 13 people across a range of shows over a 17-year period.
Among the BBC News complainants is Kirsty Wark, a former Newsnight presenter, who claimed Wallace made jokes of a “sexualised nature” whilst she participated in Celebrity MasterChef in 2011. Wark claimed that Wallace had twice shared stories and jokes of a “sexualised nature” in front of contestants and crew, which she felt were “really, really in the wrong place”.
BBC News cited additional allegations, including the presenter “talking openly about his sex life, taking his top off in front of a female worker saying he wanted to ‘give her a fashion show’, and telling a junior female colleague he was not wearing any boxer shorts under his jeans”.
The TV star’s lawyers have denied these claims, stating “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”, as reported by BBC News. On Thursday, it was announced that Wallace is “committed to fully co-operating” with an external review by MasterChef’s production company, Banijay UK.
A statement read: “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. 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.” It also added: “If anyone would like to talk to us or raise any issues or concerns, then they can contact speakupbanijayuk.com in confidence.”
A BBC spokesman commented: “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.”
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. Recorded episodes of MasterChef: The Professionals featuring Wallace will transmit as planned, with the next episode due to air on Thursday.