Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Gregg Wallace accused of groping three women amid misconduct investigation

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Gregg Wallace has been accused of groping three women (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Gregg Wallace allegedly groped three women as more shocking accusations against the Masterchef host come to light.

The TV presenter, 60, stepped down from his role on the hit BBC show earlier this week after it was announced historical allegations of misconduct were being investigated by producer Banijay.

The formal complaints, brought forward by 13 women including Kirsty Wark, claimed ‘inappropriate sexual jokes’. Later allegations also claimed he ‘mimicked sex acts’ and walked around the studio almost ‘completely naked’.

Now, the latest allegations accuse Wallace of groping three women in different incidents on and off set.

One former contestant has claimed Wallace groped her while she was on set and the cameras were rolling.

After she had moved away, Wallace allegedly later called her a ‘stupid cow’ for scalding her hand and ‘had her card marked’ when she called him disgusting.

Greg Wallace close up in blue shirt and glasses on Masterchef
One woman alleges he squeezed her bum (Picture: BBC)

Another woman claimed her bum was squeezed by Wallace in a busy pub as he made lewd comments.

Both come after Celebrity Masterchef contestant Emma Kennedy claimed she had seen him groping a camera assistant during a 2012 photo shoot, per The Sun.

She complained at the time and in a recent statement said: ‘They knew then. They knew before then and they’ve known since.’

Recounting what she witnessed, Kennedy said the photographer had a ‘young female assistant’ who was ‘bent over’ while dealing with equipment.

She continued: ‘[Wallace] took this as an opportunity to feel her arse. I told him it was inappropriate, I informed production.’

And recalled that when she had a ‘lengthy conversation’ with a Masterchef PR team member the conversation turned to ‘when the problem with GW was going to come to light’.

After the investigation was announced, Wallace’s lawyers said it is ‘entirely false’ he engages in a ‘behaviour of a sexually harassing nature’.

Kirsty Wark on Masterchef
Kirsty Wark was part of the group of women who filed an official complaint (Picture: BBC / MasterChef UK)

Later, Wallace broke his silence with an Instagram video thanking those who had supported him so far.

Dr Kate Tomas has also accused him of sexual harassment while she was on MasterChef in 2008.

She refused to return to the show when invited back and claimed she complained but ‘nothing was said, nothing was done’. She also accused him of being a ‘racist’ after he impersonated an Indian accent in front of an Indian co-worker.

Earlier this week, The Telegraph reported that a former production member filed a complaint alleging that he held her head and thrust his body toward her while she was knelt to clean a mark from his trousers.

Andrew Garfield and Dr Kate Tomas.
Dr Kate Tomas claimed she witnessed Wallace sexually harassing a camera assistant (Picture: Javier Garcia/REX/Shutterstock)

The complaint also detailed a time when he allegedly walked onto the studio naked bar a sock on his penis and was ‘very touchy feely’.

Elsewhere, one woman who worked with him on a travel show claimed he was ‘fascinated’ by the fact she was a lesbian and that his constant comments were ‘highly inappropriate’.

Celebrity Masterchef contestant and Newsnight host Wark, 69, recounted an alleged ‘sexualised’ joke he told her and said the claimed remarks were ‘really really in the wrong place’.

After his removal from Masterchef (while the investigation is underway) was announced several people came forward to slam Wallace including Sir Rod Stewart.

Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster
Sir Rod Stewart had some choice words for Wallace (Picture: Rod Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

In a brutal Instagram post he called him a ‘tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully’ for how he treated Sir Rod’s wife Penny Lancaster when she was on the show in 2021.

Other celebrities who have since criticised Wallace include Charlotte Crosby, Ulrika Jonsson and Katy Brand.

This is the latest blow in a disastrous year for the BBC.

In a statement, a spokesperson told PA: ‘We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them.

‘We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.

‘Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them.’

Metro has reached out to Wallace’s reps for comment.

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