Gregg Wallace APOLOGISES for ‘women of certain age’ remark as he breaks silence on backlash: ‘Felt under siege!’
Gregg Wallace has apologised for “any offence” he may have caused with comments made over the weekend.
The MasterChef star addressed complaints he has faced over his behaviour on the set of his work projects.
Wallace has faced a reported 13 complaints about his conduct over the years while working with the BBC, with the likes of Kirstie Allsopp suggesting he made sexually inappropriate remarks.
The BBC and production company Banijay launched an investigation into the complaints while Wallace decided to step back from presenting duties. He’s vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
Over the weekend, Wallace addressed the complaints head-on and said it “wasn’t right” that the complaints he’s faced are from “middle-aged women of a certain age” all from the celebrity edition of the cooking show.
On Monday, after facing backlash for the remarks, he said in an Instagram video: “I want to apologise for any offence that I caused with my post yesterday and any upset I may have caused to a lot of people.
“I wasn’t in a good headspace when I posted it, I’ve been under a huge amount of stress, a lot of emotion, I felt very alone, under siege yesterday when I posted it.
“It’s obvious to me I need to take some time out, now, while this investigation is under way I hope you understand and I do hope you will accept this apology.”
Wallace’s apology comes after he took to the social media platform over the weekend to slam the complaints lodged against him during his time on-screen.
He said in a clip of himself at his home: “Now, I’ve been doing MasterChef for 20 years. Amateur, professional, and celebrity MasterChef.
Do you think this all a bit unfair on Gregg?
If so find your wife/GF/Sister/Mum and ask if they think it’s OK for you/their partner to make a comment about your bedroom activities to a woman you/they have just met at work.
— Kirstie Allsopp (@KirstieMAllsopp) December 1, 2024
“I think, in that time I have worked with over 4,000 contestants of all different ages, all different backgrounds, all walks of life. And apparently, now, I’m reading in the paper, there have been 13 complaints in that time.
“Now, in the newspaper, I can see the complaints are coming from a handful of middle-class women of a certain age just from Celebrity MasterChef.
“This isn’t right,” he said as he shook his head before he soon followed the video up with another addressing reports of alleged sexually inappropriate comments.
Wallace added: “In 20 years, over 20 years of television, can you imagine how many women… female contestants on MasterChef have made sexual remarks or sexual innuendo? Can you imagine?”
The complaints made against Wallace are from a number of famous faces, including Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark.
Allsopp has used her profile on X to allege inappropriate behaviour from Wallace while singer Sir Rod Stewart, 79, branded Wallace a “tubby, bald-headed bully” after claiming he humiliated his wife, Penny Lancaster, during her stint on Celebrity MasterChef.
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While Wark is among the 13 official complaints, the identities of all the claimants remain under wraps.
Among the claims are accusations that Wallace removed his top off in front of a female worker, stating he wanted to “give her a fashion show”.
He also allegedly told a junior female colleague that he wasn’t wearing any boxer shorts under his jeans.
Other allegations have claimed Wallace used sexually-loaded and racist remarks towards an Asian contestant, including the phrase: “Me so horny.”