Gregg Wallace is to step away from presenting MasterChef while complaints made by individuals about historical allegations of misconduct are investigated.
Wallace, 60, has hosted the BBC cooking show alongside John Torode since 2005 and has also fronted other programmes including Inside the Factory, Big Weekends Away and Supermarket Secrets.
Among the complainants is former Newsnight host Kirsty Wark, who alleged he told jokes of a “sexualised nature” when she was competing on Celebrity MasterChef in 2011.
Wark described her overall experience on the show as joyous but said: “The fly in the ointment, on occasion, was Gregg Wallace.”
She added: “I think people were uncomfortable. We were essentially a captive audience. People looked embarrassed and just got on with their work. I was actually more angry than anything else, because I thought it was so inappropriate. And in a sense what I thought was it was about power more than anything else, that he felt he could.”
Sir Rod Stewart added to the allegations, claiming Wallace had humiliated his wife, Penny Lancaster, during filming of the show three years ago. Writing on social media, he called Wallace a “tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully”.
The Telegraph also reported on a claim by Ulrika Jonsson that Wallace was forced to apologise to a female contestant on Celebrity Masterchef after making an offensive joke.
On Thursday evening, Wallace posted a video on his Instagram account: “I would like to thank all the people getting in touch, reaching out and showing their support. That’s good of you, thank you very much.”
Banijay UK, the production company behind Masterchef, has launched an investigation and said that Wallace is cooperating. The company said in a statement: “Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.”
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A BBC spokesperson said: “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.”
Recorded episodes of MasterChef: The Professionals featuring Wallace will be broadcast as planned.
Banijay UK said: “Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.”
BBC News sent a letter to Wallace’s representatives on Tuesday detailing allegations of inappropriate sexual comments by 13 people who worked with him across a range of shows over a 17-year period.
Wallace’s lawyers have said it is “entirely false” Wallace engages in behaviours of a sexually harassing nature, the outlet reported.
In October, Wallace hit back at reports he made sexually inappropriate comments to a female colleague at the BBC in 2018.
Wallace was accused of bragging about his sex life with wife Anna Wallace, and taking his top off in front of the employee, according to The Sun.
The TV personality vehemently denied the accusations in a video he shared to Instagram, saying the allegations had been investigated by the BBC six years ago.
“My comments were found to be not sexual,” he said. “I repeat not sexual. Thank you.”
Wallace, who says he is “madly in love” with his wife Anna, 37, said it was his priority to ensure that it was clear that he was not “flirting” with anybody who is not his wife.
“Something else that I feel very strongly about – strong enough to be on [Instagram] – nobody six years ago or since has accused me of flirting with anybody or hitting on anybody,” he added.
“And that’s important to me and I say this for my wife Anna, who I’ve been true to and madly in love with since the day I met her. I don’t want anybody to misunderstand this and make it look like I was flirting with somebody. Nobody accused me of that and I never have.”
Last year the presenter was forced to quit Inside the Factory over “inappropriate” comments allegedly made to female staff.
Wallace quit his role fronting the BBC2 series in March 2023 after serving as presenter for seven seasons, stating that he wanted to spend more time with his three-year-old son.
The Times, however, reported that an incident at a Nestlé factory in York at the start of the year also contributed to his decision to quit.
During the visit in question, Wallace allegedly made comments to staff that were considered inappropriate. The publication understands that the remarks were related to the weight of female staff members and were not sexual.
In response to the allegations, a representative for Wallace told The Independent at the time: “We refer to you the original statement which makes clear his reasons for not continuing filming the series.”