Gregg Wallace’s alleged behaviour ‘never been acceptable’, says watchdog chief

By Casey Cooper-Fiske, PA Entertainment Reporter

Gregg Wallace’s alleged misconduct “should’ve never been acceptable”, watchdog chairwoman Baroness Helena Kennedy has said, after it was reported the TV presenter has been sacked by MasterChef production company Banijay UK.

Baroness Kennedy, who heads the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority, which aims to improve behaviour in the creative industries, made the comments after BBC News reported fresh claims of inappropriate behaviour by the 60-year-old from 50 more people.

Wallace had stepped back from hosting the BBC cooking show last year after a number of historical complaints came to light, with the latest claims including allegations he groped one MasterChef worker and pulled his trousers down in front of another.

On Tuesday, the former greengrocer said in an Instagram post that he had been cleared of the “most serious and sensational accusations” against him ahead of the report into his alleged misconduct, but added that he recognised some of his humour and language was inappropriate “at times” and apologised for this.

Speaking on the BBC’s Newsnight magazine show, Baroness Kennedy said: “The thing about this is that it should’ve never been acceptable behaviour, and people did complain about it.

“Being a cheeky chappy and the guy that the public were attracted to as being their frank-speaking, playful man that they saw on the telly, he was not speaking on the television the way that he was speaking to the people around him.”

Baroness Kennedy said the public might have enjoyed watching Wallace playing the “cheeky chappy” but that they had not seen his “uglier side”.

The latest set of allegations reported by BBC News, saw a university student claim that Wallace reached under her skirt and pinched her bottom in a nightclub, while a junior worker alleged he dropped his trousers in front of her while he was not wearing any underwear.

 

Other recent claims include a MasterChef worker who said she tried to complain about comments he allegedly made about her body in 2022, and a former policeman who tried to raise concerns after he allegedly witnessed Wallace making inappropriate sexual comments at a charity event in 2023.

BBC News reported the majority of new allegations claimed he made inappropriate sexual comments, with 11 women accusing him of inappropriate sexual behaviour, such as groping and touching.

Baroness Kennedy added: “Now I know that Gregg was saying that he is someone with neurodiversity problems, that he’s autistic, and that may explain some of his deeply inappropriate behaviour, but he’s not inhibited, he’s disinhibited in what he does, but that’s also a role for management.

“If you employ someone, and then you discover that they actually don’t know how to contain themselves and how to behave, then you have to basically be taking them on one side and nipping it in the bud at an early stage. That was not done.

“I think that’s part of a reflection of the way in which television has changed in the last 20 years.”

 

Baroness Kennedy said “it’s not so much that suddenly we’ve become politically correct” but the issue was about behaviour that was never acceptable.

BBC News said it had not seen the final Banijay report into Wallace’s behaviour, but it was understood the presenter had been sacked.

Philippa Childs, head of broadcasting union Bectu, said she would “like to feel” a similar situation could not happen again, but added that convincing people to come forward was a “real problem for the industry to tackle”, adding that young workers were “vulnerable” as they feared for their jobs.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I can’t say I’m surprised that there have been further claims, given that’s what normally happens when a story emerges about an individual of bad behaviour, then other people do feel more confident in coming forward.”

Childs said her union had also been approached with further revelations.

Production firm Banijay previously said Wallace was “committed to fully co-operating” with the external review, while his lawyers had previously strongly denied “he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.

The most recent series of MasterChef: The Professionals continued to air last year amid allegations against Wallace, but two MasterChef celebrity Christmas specials were pulled from the BBC’s schedule in December 2024.

Speaking at the time, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said she would look to impose new standards in the creative industry amid the allegations.

Banijay UK declined to comment on Wallace’s comments, while the BBC said it would not comment until the investigation was complete and subsequent report was released.