BBC airs The Professionals semi-final despite backlash over Gregg Wallace sexism scandal, leaving MasterChef fans outraged

MasterChef viewers have slammed the BBC’s decision to include Gregg Wallace in the semi-final. 

The grocer-turned broadcaster, 60, 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. 

The celebrity is facing allegations of engaging in ‘inappropriate sexual banter’ and requesting the contact information of female production team members. Additionally, it has been reported that the host appeared nude on set, wearing solely a sock to cover his genitals.

However, in a move that has shocked some viewers, Wallace has continued to appear on MasterChef: The Professionals, with the programme’s semi-final airing on Monday night. 

Furious fans took to social media to blast the BBC for not editing Wallace out of the show, despite the presenter stepping down from his role last week. 

One furious viewer wrote on X: ‘I see the BBC is being its usual tone-deaf self. BBC refuses to pull “misogynistic” Gregg Wallace off air.’

Another wrote: ‘Watching @MasterChefUK and while I’ve never thought Gregg Wallace brought anything positive to the show I’m finding it near impossible to watch the show.’ 

A third said: ‘I was expecting them to have edited Gregg Wallace out though.’ 

A fourth penned: ‘After the revelations of the last few days I’m finding Gregg Wallace more irritating than usual.’ 

A BBC spokesperson said: ‘MasterChef is life-changing for the chefs that take part and the show is about more than one individual.’

A former MasterChef contestant told Sky News that Wallace ‘humiliated’ her and drove her to tears with a sexually inappropriate comment during filming.

Jackie Kearney, a chef and author who finished fourth in the BBC hit show in 2011, claimed Wallace made sexual innuendos ‘constantly’ in front of crew members.

Ms Kearney spoke about how Wallace left her breaking down in tears in the toilets after making a lewd joke about his penis.

She said: ‘There were several times that he would comment on my legs, or comment on the skirts I was wearing… he made a comment once: “If I’d known you had legs like that, maybe you’d have made it further”.’

Ms Kearney returned to MasterChef as a guest judge in 2017, where she hoped to impress Wallace and co-host John Torode with her book about vegan food which she published two years prior.

But recalling how the interaction went, she claimed: ‘I came into the studio and was like, “Hi Gregg, I’ve got something for you!” And he said, “Oh, is it a present for my c***?”’

Ms Kearney said the comment left her feeling ‘humiliated’ and ’embarrassed’ and that she broke down in tears in the toilets.

She said she also walked around hating what she was wearing because Wallace had allegedly already made a comment about her legs earlier in the day.

Ms Kearney thought that someone would check up on her, but that nobody said anything. She claims that Wallace was mic’ed up when he made the sexual comment.

The chef claims that Wallace created an environment where his sexual remarks were ‘normalised in way that you would expect to see in a ’90s lads mag’.

The presenter has defended himself against all the allegations against him, pinning the blame on ‘middle class women of a certain age’. But on Monday he apologised for his controversial comments, admitting he was ‘not in a good head space’ when he posted the rant. 

Banijay UK, the show’s production company, previously said the complaints were made to the BBC by ‘individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with Gregg Wallace on one of our shows’.

The company said Wallace was ‘committed to fully co-operating throughout the process’.

‘Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate,’ the company said.

‘While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process.

‘Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set.

‘Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.’