Gregg Wallace blames women jibe on feeling ‘under siege’ as MasterChef to air– live

The company that produces MasterChef, has confirmed Gregg Wallace is not contracted for future series as an investigation into alleged inappropriate behaviour is carried out.

Production company Banijay UK told The Independent that Wallace is contracted on a series by series basis and is not set to be a part of future series while the investigation is ongoing.

TV chef Tom Kerridge said he has always known Gregg Wallace to be “full of jokes”.

“And he’s always full of charisma. And that front of camera charisma is always something that continues into off-screen as well”, Mr Kerridge told Sky News’ Politics hub.

TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp has said she was “so embarrassed” she thought she “might cry” after Gregg Wallace allegedly made a comment to her about his sex life.

Allsopp, 53, said the encounter took place several years ago in a performers’ lounge while she was filming a pilot for a TV quiz show alongside Wallace and his partner.

She told BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend: “I’d been chatting to her, she left the room and he (Wallace) made a reference to something they did in bed.

“You know that feeling when you’re so embarrassed that you think you might cry. You just feel kind of internally scarlet. I had that feeling and I always remembered it.”

In a comment piece for Independent Voices, former head of BBC news Roger Mosey writes:

Is the fate of a television cookery presenter more important than Syrian insurgents seizing Aleppo and the turmoil on the streets in Georgia? The BBC thinks so, based on its news judgements in recent days, which have seen exhaustive coverage of the accusations against Gregg Wallace take precedence over matters of life and death around the world.

Once again, the “independence” of BBC News has been trumpeted in its ability to report on the corporation’s own business – but for many it reflects a self-obsession and lack of perspective which questions the judgement of the news division. Senior BBC executives share this view, I know, but they feel powerless to intervene without the risk of being accused of corporate cover-ups.

And yes, of course, the Wallace affair should be reported on – proportionately. It is both a genuine story, with obvious upset caused to those who’ve had a nasty experience with the former MasterChef host, and it is a further blow to the BBC which has been battling against misbehaviour by its presenters for decades.

What makes this case particularly damaging – and we should note that investigations are continuing and no conclusions have yet emerged – is that it seems that managers in the BBC and in the production company Banijay must have known that there was a Wallace Problem.

Gregg Wallace has faced a series of accusations since it was announced he would step away from presenting MasterChef while complaints about historical allegations of misconduct are externally reviewed.

The presenter, 60, faces various claims of making “inappropriate sexual jokes” and complaints about his behaviour – with his lawyer saying “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.

Here is a timeline of events:

A visibly emotional Gregg Wallace has apologised after posting a video saying complaints about his alleged inappropriate behaviour came from “a handful of middle-class women of a certain age”.

In a new Instagram message, posted on Monday, the MasterChef presenter said his head was “not in a good place” and that he is “under a lot of stress”.

My colleague Lucy Leeson reports:

Downing Street has said Gregg Wallace’s response to the accusations being made against him was “inappropriate and misogynistic”.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has since held talks with BBC bosses in the wake of the Wallace row, Downing Street said.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Culture Secretary spoke with the BBC leadership at the end of last week on this matter and wider workplace culture issues to seek assurances that there are robust processes in place to deal with complaints.

“Clearly the comments we have seen from the individual over the weekend were completely inappropriate and misogynistic.

“More broadly the BBC is conducting an independent review into workplace culture which must deliver clear and timely recommendations. It’s essential that staff and the wider public have confidence that the BBC takes these issues seriously.”

Asked whether MasterChef should be pulled off air, the spokesman added the decision was for the BBC and the show’s production company, and reiterated that Downing Street believes it is “right” that a thorough investigation is conducted.

Downing Street has warned that it is “essential that staff and the wider public have confidence” that the BBC takes issues relating to workplace culture seriously.

After revealing that culture secretary Lisa Nandy spoke to BBC bosses last week after the Gregg Wallace row began, No 10 said: “More broadly the BBC is conducting an independent review into workplace culture which must deliver clear and timely recommendations.

“It’s essential that staff and the wider public have confidence that the BBC takes these issues seriously.”