Wallace steps aside from MasterChef during probe

Gregg Wallace is to step away from presenting MasterChef while complaints made by individuals about historical allegations of misconduct are investigated.

- LYDIA SPENCER-ELLIOTT

Wallace, 60, has hosted the BBC cooking show alongside John Torode since 2005 and has also fronted other programmes including Inside the Factory, Big Weekends Away and Supermarket Secrets.

Among the complainants is former Newsnight host Kirsty Wark, who alleged he told jokes of a “sexualised nature” when she was competing on Celebrity MasterChef in 2011.

Wark described her overall experience on the show as joyous but said: “The fly in the ointment, on occasion, was Gregg Wallace.”

She added: “I think people were uncomfortable. We were essentially a captive audience. People looked embarrassed and just got on with their work. I was actually more angry than anything else, because I thought it was so inappropriate. And in a sense what I thought was it was about power more than anything else, that he felt he could.”

Yesterday evening Wallace posted a video on his Instagram account: “I would like to thank all the people getting in touch, reaching out and showing their support. That’s good of you, thank you very much.”

Sir Rod Stewart added to the allegations, claiming Wallace had humiliated his wife, Penny Lancaster, during filming of the show three years ago. Writing on social media, he called Wallace a “tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully”.

The Telegraph also reported on a claim by Ulrika Jonsson that Wallace was forced to apologise to a female contestant on Celebrity Masterchef after making an offensive joke.