Former MasterChef host Gregg Wallace has vowed he will “not go quietly”, amid reports that he has been dropped by the BBC.
It comes after the TV host faced an investigation, commissioned by MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK, into alleged inappropriate behaviour while working for the BBC.
In November, the 60-year-old stepped back from presenting the cooking show after accusations that he made sexual comments towards staff and celebrity guests on a range of programmes over 17 years.
In a statement, released ahead of the publication of the summary of a report into the claims, the 60-year-old said he had been “cleared of the most serious and sensational accusations” made against him.
However, he said the report, carried out by law firm Lewis Silkin, had found him “primarily guilty of inappropriate language between 2005 and 2018”.
In a statement, published on Instagram, Wallace wrote: “I have taken the decision to speak out ahead of the publication of the Silkins report (sic) – a decision I do not take lightly.
“But after 21 years of loyal service to the BBC, I cannot sit in silence while my reputation is further damaged to protect others.
“I have now been cleared by the Silkins report of the most serious and sensational accusations made against me.
“The most damaging claims (including from public figures which have not been upheld) were found to be baseless after a full and forensic six-month investigation.
“To be clear, the Silkins Report exonerates me of all the serious allegations which made headlines last year and finds me primarily guilty of inappropriate language between 2005 and 2018.”
Wallace said he recognised that “some of my humour and language” was at times “inappropriate” and that he apologised “without reservation”.
“But I was never the caricature now being sold for clicks,” Wallace, who also referred to his recent diagnosis of autism, added.
“I was hired by the BBC and MasterChef as the cheeky greengrocer. A real person with warmth, character, rough edges, and all.
“For over two decades, that authenticity was part of the brand. Now, in a sanitised world, that same personality is seen as a problem.”
Shortly after the allegations first emerged, Wallace recorded a video where he dismissed his accusers as “middle-class women of a certain age”.
His remarks were met with huge criticism – including from Downing Street, where a spokesperson for the prime minister described them as “completely inappropriate and misogynistic”.
Wallace responded by posting a follow-up clip where he apologised and said he “wasn’t in a good space” when he posted the comments.
Wallace was replaced in the 20th season of MasterChef, which aired this Spring, by restaurant critic and former I‘m A Celebrity contestant Grace Dent.
Previously recorded episodes of MasterChef featuring Wallace, including two celebrity Christmas specials, a Celebrity MasterChef Christmas Cook Off and a MasterChef Strictly Festive Extravaganza, featuring Strictly Come Dancing professional dancers, were pulled from the BBC’s 2024 festive schedule in response to the accusations against him.
The former presenter has recently been promoting his health and lifestyle website, which pulls together a team of experts, including nutritionists and doctors, along with his wife Anna as recipe curator.
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Wallace’s lawyers have previously called allegations that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature “entirely false”.
A spokesperson for the BBC said: “Banijay UK instructed the law firm Lewis Silkin to run an investigation into allegations against Gregg Wallace. We are not going to comment until the investigation is complete and the findings are published.”
A Banijay spokesperson told Sky News: “We won’t be commenting until our report is published.” They have signalled the report will be published later this week or next.
