Penny ready to speak to 'authorities' about the 'humiliation' that left her in tears on Celebrity MasterChef

PENNY Lancaster is ready to speak to the "authorities" over her Celebrity MasterChef appearance as presenter Gregg Wallace was hit with a fresh wave of misconduct allegations Wallace, 60, is stepping back from the BBC show amid claims he made "lesbian jokes" and "highly inappropriate" comments as the latest in a series of scandals engulfing the BBC continued to grow.

- Stephen Beech

A number of celebrities have now come forward after the BBC revealed 13 people complained about Wallace's conduct while working with him over a 17-year period across five shows, from 2005 to 2022.

A spokesperson reportedly said former model Penny was "happy to talk to the appropriate authorities should they feel she has anything useful to add", but said she would not discuss the matter publicly.

Penny, 53, left the show in tears in 2021 after Wallace scolded her for the "serious" delay of her food.

Leaping to his wife's defence, rock legend Sir Rod Stewart said Wallace "humiliated" her in footage he claimed had been cut from the show. Rod's scathing remarks read: "So Greg Wallace gets fired from MasterChef. Good riddance Wallace... You humiliated my wife when she was on the show but you had that bit cut out, didn't you?

"You're a tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully. Karma got ya." TV presenter Ulrika Jonsson claimed that Wallace made a "rape joke" while filming Celebrity MasterChef in 2017.

Tears

The star, 57, alleged that another female contestant became "really distressed" after the alleged comment. Ms Jonsson said: "They then went off to speak to Gregg. After a while he came up...and he apologised. He could hardly get his words out. He was apologising, and he had tears in his eyes." How Clean is Your House star Aggie MacKenzie says Wallace "behaved like a sort of Sid James character" when she was on Celebrity MasterChef in 2011.