The shamed MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace is facing fresh allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour after stepping down from hosting the hit BBC cooking show last week.
The former greengrocer, 60, announced he was stepping back from the show on Thursday after nearly 20 years while allegations into alleged misconduct are investigated.
Wallace last week faced accusations of inappropriate behaviour from 13 people, including Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark, over a 17-year period across five shows from 2005 to 2022.
Addressing those allegations, his lawyers said ‘it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature’.
However, three more women have now come forward to tell the BBC about their experiences with Wallace.
The latest allegations include one woman who said Wallace groped her, another who claims he pressed his crotch against her while filming BBC show Eat Well For Less and a third who alleged he flashed her in his dressing room.
The BBC say they put the latest allegations to Wallace on Saturday, but he has not responded. MailOnline has also contacted his representatives, MasterChef producer Banijay UK and the BBC.
It comes as under-fire BBC bosses said MasterChef Christmas specials would be pulled in a major U-turn, having previously said it would continue airing all filmed episodes.
MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace is facing fresh allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour
Gregg Wallace is pictured at his house in Kent shortly after stepping down from MasterChef last week
Among those to come forward with fresh allegations is Lisa, not her real name, who worked on BBC show Eat Well for Less in 2015. She told the BBC Wallace ‘touched her inappropriately’ when they were filming in a supermarket.
‘He brushed past me at the checkout, and touched my bum with his waist and penis and laughed and said “oooh you liked that didn’t you”,’ she said.
‘It was the way he reacted, other people would’ve said “oh I’m sorry can I squeeze by” which would’ve been ok.’
Lisa also claims that she felt she had to continue working but was affected by the ‘disgusting’ act. She claims she raised it with a senior colleague but that nothing was ever done.
Banijay say they have no record of this incident being raised at RDF Television, which produced Eat Well For Less.
A second woman claims that she came across Wallace while working at an event in 2022.
The woman, known as Sarah, claims that Wallace asked her to take him to the car park at the end of the event.
‘As we walked down, he started putting his arm around me, saying “go on, hold my hand, don’t you want to stand next to me”,’ she told the BBC.
‘It was totally out of the blue, and totally unwanted.’
The woman says they then went into a lift where he pulled her and others into a group hug.
‘When doing this, he put his hand on my bottom and groped me. It made me feel gross, it was horrible,’ she told the BBC.
Meanwhile, Anna, not her real name, worked on Masterchef in 2015 and claims she was called to Wallace’s dressing room to fix his bow tie for an after work event.
The BBC has pulled its planned MasterChef Christmas specials amid a series of allegations of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour against presenter Gregg Wallace (right, pictured with co-host John Torode)
MasterChef: The Professionals is hosted by Gregg Wallace and Monica Galetti – with the latest episode airing last night
Wallace co-hosted MasterChef for 17 years alongside John Torode (left) – Wallace has unfollowed Torode on social media
While fastening his bow tie, she claims he noticed his trousers were ‘partially lowered’.
‘His pubic hair was on show, where you can see the top part of his penis, and he was wearing no boxers underneath,’ she told the BBC.
Instead of apologising, she claims Wallace ‘stared at me’ in what felt like a ‘power play’, leaving her feeling ‘shocked’ and ’embarrassed’.
Anna claims she exited the room within seconds and immediately mentioned it to colleagues in production, who escalated it.
She says the production company, Shine, offered her the chance to take it further but she chose not to because she was starting out in her career.
Anna says she wishes she had said something more at the time.
Banijay, who own Shine, say Anna was spoken to by senior producers at length, where it was established the door was open during the incident and that she did not feel ‘threatened’ at any point. They also said the BBC were made aware of the issue.
The allegations come after Wallace was dropped from the festive TV schedule after the BBC and Channel 5 cancelled episodes featuring him.
The BBC has pulled its planned two MasterChef Christmas specials, which featured celebrities including The Wanted singer Max George, Emmerdale actor Amy Walsh, reality star Luca Bish and comedian Shazia Mira.
The second, called MasterChef Meets Strictly Festive Extravaganza, was due to feature Strictly Come Dancing’s Amy Dowden, Gorka Marquez, Kai Widdrington and Nancy Xu, with Motsi Mabuse setting a challenge.
It is understood the celebrities involved are being spoken to about the reasons behind the change in programming, and that no changes will be made to iPlayer content.
The BBC previously said it would continue airing all filmed episodes of MasterChef, although the announcement today appears to mark a major U-turn.
But the corporation said the celebrity Christmas specials are ‘obviously a different type of show’ as it justified its decision to axe them.
It comes after the BBC was criticised for showing a semi-final of the current series of MasterChef: The Professionals despite the ongoing storm surrounding its co-host Wallace.
The allegations come after Walalce was dropped from the festive TV schedule after the BBC and Channel 5 cancelled episodes featuring him
Gregg Wallace posted on Instagram on Sunday hitting back at the allegations made against him – claiming they were all from ‘middle-class women of a certain age’
The celebrity chef then apologised for ‘any offence I caused’ after his controversial comments
In another blow for Wallace, Channel 5 has removed Gregg Wallace’s Big Weekends Away from its streaming platform My5 after complaints of the presenter’s inappropriate behaviour during his time filming the show.
He initially faced claims from at least 13 women across five shows over a 17-year period, who have accused him of inappropriate behaviour, including roaming around on set naked with a sock on his penis, inappropriate jokes and groping crew members.
Other allegations include talking openly about his sex life on set, including details of intimate acts, flirting with crew members and asking younger female colleagues for their numbers.
Now Channel 5 has also pulled planned repeats of Gregg Wallace’s Copenhagen Christmas Market and Gregg Wallace’s Lapland Christmas Adventure from its festive schedule.
Allegations were raised by staff members about Wallace’s behaviour on Channel 5′ s Gregg Wallace’s Big Weekends during a BBC News investigation, with producer Rumpus Media saying was investigating allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’.
One woman said that while making Gregg Wallace’s Big Weekends in 2019, he became ‘fascinated’ by her relationships with women and wanted to know the ‘logistics’ of her sex life.
Another woman said that while working on the Channel 5 programme at the same time, Wallace’s conversation often revolved around sex, including spanking and domination.
A third woman who worked on the show, who BBC News called Amanda, said Wallace allegedly showed her photos of a woman in her underwear while they were travelling in a car together.
She also recalled how he allegedly took off his top and said ‘let me give you a fashion show’ in front of her and a male colleague when trying on outfits in his hotel room after filming had wrapped for the day.
Her colleague then left the room and she told BBC News: ‘It’s weird to be alone in a room with a topless stranger.’
Another person who worked with him on Channel 5 travel show, claimed that he treated women dismissively.
She told The I: ‘I remember him being really unbelievably rude and obnoxious through the entire shoot. He was extremely rude and misogynistic… He would dismiss directions from the female producers.’
Channel 5 said it took the allegations ‘extremely seriously’ and that the production company Rumpus was looking into the claims. Rumpus said: ‘We do not tolerate inappropriate behaviour on our productions.’
At least 13 people have made a formal complaint against Wallace, while other celebrities and former contestants have also spoken about his alleged behaviour
Sykes (centre) today claimed Gregg Wallace greeted her on set by asking if models eat, which she said she found ‘unprofessional’
Gregg Wallace (pictured) last week stepped away from hosting the show after nearly 20 years. His absence comes while allegations of inappropriate comments he made towards staff and celebrity guests over 17 years are investigated
Also this afternoon the BBC bosses appeared to be reconsidering their stance on Wallace’s position.
‘MasterChef is life-changing for the chefs that take part and the show is about more than one individual,’ a BBC source had said on Monday afternoon. And on Friday as the MasterChef specials were unveiled, the BBC had promised ‘fireworks, great Christmas banter and good food.’
But in a dramatic U-turn the BBC not only cancelled its MasterChef Christmas specials, but also the rerun of three episodes of Inside The Factory, a show Wallace hosted until leaving under a cloud earlier this year.
Wallace allegedly offended certain female staff members at the Nestlé UK factory in York with comments about their weight during a ‘friendly’ conversation.
The comments were non-sexual but were deemed ‘inappropriate’ and a complaint was lodged with Voltage TV, the production company responsible for developing the show.
‘He was rude towards staff and continued to talk in a derogatory manner, especially to women.
‘He was given a talking-to and was appalled that he had caused such offence,’ a source said.
Voltage TV asked Wallace to moderate his language and filming continued – but his behaviour seemingly didn’t change.
Wallace pictured in February last year after being made an MBE at Windsor Castle
Staff reportedly informed management that they did not want the show to return while Wallace remained at the helm.
A source said: ‘He felt that he was just trying to be friendly but no longer knew what the right thing to say was any more and decided to leave.’
A Nestlé insider told The Times: ‘He comes in cracking jokes but is from a very different world to our workers.’
The show featured Wallace alongside Cherry Healey and saw the pair explore factory floors across Britain to get a closer look at production lines.
The episodes were due to air on December 11, 17 and 18 on BBC Two.
Celebrities including actress Emma Kennedy, former Newsnight host Katie Wark and even Sir Rod Stewart have spoken out about alleged sexual behaviour and ‘bullying’.
Today, Melanie Sykes said Wallace was the reason she left her TV career behind, while Vanessa Feltz alleged he had told a lewd sex story about his wife in a BBC lift.
Sykes said she made an informal complaint against Wallace, and claimed she found conduct on the MasterChef set ‘jaw-dropping’.
And broadcaster Vanessa Feltz claimed he had described a sex act he had performed on his wife while in a BBC lift with her friend.
Speaking on her YouTube channel, she said: ‘My friend did not know Greg Wallace. Had never met him before, and in the lift was a young girl who worked on another show.
‘So the three of them were going up in the lift together and completely unprompted Greg Wallace described a sex act that he had performed on his then-wife that morning.
‘So my friend had not met Greg Wallace before, hadn’t asked him about his sex life. Was simply taking him to participate in a BBC programme, and the young lady in the lift was just an innocent passenger.
‘So this is something that a very close friend and associate of mine told me about at the time.
‘What did anyone do about it? Of course, absolutely nothing.’
It follows ongoing backlash after Wallace took to Instagram on Sunday with a furious rant in which he accused the allegations of being made by a handful of ‘middle-class women of a certain age’.
Wallace issued an apology on Monday for any ‘offence’ or ‘upset’ he caused with his statement over the weekend, saying: ‘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.’
Wallace quit BBC show Inside The Factory in March last year after allegations that he had been ‘rude towards staff’ and spoke to them in a ‘derogatory manner, especially to women’
He added: ‘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.’
His apology came after it sparked a backlash, with Downing Street saying his response to the accusations was ‘inappropriate and misogynistic’.
Others have branded the video a ‘classic’ non-apology.
The presenter, 60, apologised after his controversial comments on Instagram over the weekend caused another PR storm, blaming ‘a huge amount of stress’ and ‘a lot of emotion’ for the error.
The U-turn came hours after an insider told MailOnline he had ‘gone rogue’ and was ignoring ‘all advice’ about how to salvage his TV career following the scandal.
Wallace, who has stepped back from the BBC’s MasterChef while allegations into alleged sexual misconduct are investigated, said: ‘I want to apologise for any offence that I caused with my post yesterday and any upset I have caused to a lot of people’.
TV psychologist Jo Hemmings said: ‘When is an apology, not an apology? Gregg Wallace backtracking on his misogyny to salvage his career, but no regrets about his long-term inappropriate behaviour’.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said on Monday, when asked if the cookery show should be pulled off air, that 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 also said that the TV star’s response to the accusations being made against him was ‘inappropriate and misogynistic’ and confirmed that Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy held talks with BBC bosses in the wake of the Wallace row.
A BBC spokesperson said: ‘As we have said, MasterChef is an amazing competition which is life-changing for the chefs taking part and the current series of MasterChef: The Professionals is continuing as planned.
‘The celebrity Christmas specials are obviously a different type of show and in the current circumstances we have decided not to broadcast them.’
