Gregg Wallace’s shocking comments about flirting at work have resurfaced amid news that he has stepped down from MasterChef amid allegations of misconduct.
The presenter, 60, will step back from the BBC show – which he has presented for 19 years – while complaints from 13 people about historical allegations of misconduct, including alleged inappropriate sexual comments and jokes, are investigated.
And the investigation has uncovered a fourteen-word statement that Gregg previously said in a 2020 interview, with the star suggesting at the time that while it may be difficult to “talk” to someone at work, he enjoyed it unregulated nature of Twitter in which one could flirt freely with others.
I talk to Kate Thornton about her Podcast White Wine Question Timetells Gregg, “You can’t talk to anyone at work because the HR department would fire you.”
The TV personality, who met his wife Anne-Marie Sterpini on Twitter in 2013, went on to say: ‘What I like about Twitter is that it’s not a dating site. You can just have a nice chat with people.’
Anne-Marie, who is more than 20 years younger than Gregg, had initially contacted Gregg to ask for recipe advice, after which they hit it off and became engaged a year later.
Gregg Wallace’s shocking comments about flirting at work have resurfaced amid news he has stepped down from MasterChef amid misconduct allegations
The presenter, 60, will take a step back from the BBC show – which he has presented for 19 years – while complaints from 13 people about historical allegations of misconduct, including alleged inappropriate sexual comments and jokes, are investigated. [pictured with John Torode]
The couple married in Hever Castle in 2016, and the couple are now parents to son Sid, five.
Gregg also met his ex and third wife Heidi Brown on social media in 2009, they married in 2011 and divorced in 2012 after a three-year romance.
Gregg is being investigated over inappropriate sexual comments he allegedly made to female colleagues at the BBC.
The TV chef, who has co-presented the BBC cooking show with John Torode since 2005, was also accused of being rude and insulting to women on another show last year.
While Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark, a Celebrity Masterchef contestant in 2011, said he told ‘sexualised’ jokes during filming.
He is “committed to cooperating fully throughout the process,” according to the show’s production company, Banijay UK.
Already recorded episodes of MasterChef: The Professionals, currently showing on BBC One and starring Wallace, will air as planned in December.
Banijay has not revealed the nature of the allegations, but last month it was claimed that the grocer-turned-TV star had bragged about his sex life to a younger female BBC employee and removed his top in front of her.
Speaking to Kate Thornton on her White Wine Question Time podcast, Gregg shared: ‘You can’t talk to anyone at work because the HR department would fire you’
The TV personality, who met his wife Anne-Marie Sterpini on Twitter in 2013, went on to say: ‘What I like about Twitter is that it’s not a dating site. You can just have a nice chat with people.’
Gregg also met his ex and third wife Heidi Brown on social media in 2009, they married in 2011 and divorced in 2012 after a three-year romance (pictured in 2011)
In October, Gregg vehemently denied making inappropriate sexual comments to women, stating that he would never “flirt” or “hit” another woman and, “I didn’t say anything sexual.”
In a statement to the PA news agency, Banijay UK said: ‘This week the BBC has received complaints from individuals regarding historical allegations of misconduct while working with presenter Gregg Wallace on one of our shows.
‘While these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we believe it is appropriate to immediately conduct an external review to conduct a full and impartial investigation.
‘While this review is ongoing, Gregg Wallace will step back from his role on MasterChef and commit to cooperating fully throughout the process.
‘Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behavior are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways to raise concerns, including anonymously, and clearly promoted on the set.
“While these are historic allegations, incidents brought to our attention where these expectations are not met are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.”
The statement added: ‘If anyone would like to talk to us or raise any issues or concerns, they can contact us in confidence at speakup@banijayuk.com.’
The BBC has said it takes all issues it raises ‘seriously’.
Gregg is being investigated over inappropriate sexual comments he allegedly made to female colleagues at the BBC
in October, Gregg denied claims that he bragged about his sex life to a younger female BBC employee and took off his top in front of her while filming a game show, saying he would never “flirt” or “see another woman would ‘hit’.
A BBC spokesperson said: ‘We take all issues raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to address them.
‘We have always been clear that behavior that does not meet the standards the BBC expects will not be tolerated.
‘Where an individual is contracted directly by an external manufacturing company, we will share any complaints or concerns with that company and will always support them in addressing them.’
Gregg absolutely denied claims he bragged about his sex life to a younger female BBC employee and took off his top in front of her while filming a game show – saying he would never ‘flirt’ or ‘friend another woman’ would hit.
Bosses at the company are said to have lured the MasterChef co-host to a meeting in 2018 following allegations of ‘inappropriate sexual comments’ and told him to ‘change his behaviour’.
An insider claims Gregg dismissed it as ‘just banter’ after he was reported for making ‘consistently inappropriate comments’ to the production team member while working on game show Impossible Celebrities.
But on Instagram, Wallace hit back at the allegations in an emotional video in which he said he was “madly in love” with his wife Anna.
He said: ‘The story that hit the papers was immediately investigated when it happened six years ago by the BBC.
“And the outcome of that was I didn’t say anything sexual. I’ll have to repeat this again. I didn’t say anything sexual.
Wallace (pictured with John Torode), 60, is “committed to fully cooperating throughout the process,” said the show’s production company, Banijay UK
The BBC has said it will take the issues surrounding Wallace ‘seriously’
‘Despite what the newspapers suggest, no one accused me of flirting or hitting on anyone six years ago.
“And the reason I say this is because of my wife Anna. I have always been faithful to my wife Anna and have never flirted or had sex with anyone in twelve years [since] I met her and fell in love with her.
“And it’s important that, so people don’t misunderstand that, I’m faithful to my wife.”
The allegations of inappropriate comments have only now come to light as the BBC launched an investigation into workplace culture this week as bosses strive to tackle the ‘abuse of power’.
The insider who made the claims against Wallace, which his team say are ‘inaccurate’, raised questions about why he was allowed to continue presenting MasterChef.
They told the Sun: ‘It is said he bragged about his sex life with his partner at the time.
At one point, Wallace was also accused of taking off his top in front of the woman, which felt inappropriate.
The team working on the show are said to have gone to BBC bosses to complain after being left ‘mortified’ by Wallace’s alleged behaviour.
A BBC spokesperson told The Sun: ‘While we do not comment on individuals, any issues that arise are dealt with quickly and appropriately.
“We do not tolerate any form of inappropriate behavior and have robust processes in place.”