Gregg Wallace has said he requires “space to heal” following statements made in an interview where he asserted that allegations of inappropriate sexual comments against him were “not all true”.
A BBC News investigation uncovered allegations from 13 individuals who worked with Wallace across several programmes over 17 years, accusing him of making inappropriate sexual comments.
In remarks to the Daily Mail, Wallace said “they’re not all true,” and revealed he had felt “under attack” and considered suicide.
Posting on Instagram after the interview appeared, the former MasterChef presenter acknowledged there would be “a lot of noise” following his comments to the Mail, but added he “won’t be joining in”.
Wallace has faced further accusations of “groping” and “touching” since the initial reports, all of which he firmly denies.
Banijay, the company behind MasterChef, has initiated an inquiry into the historic allegations.
On Instagram, Wallace said he “meant every word” from his Mail interview.
“It was difficult to do, but being honest for myself, my family and particularly my mum, felt right,” he wrote.
He stated he now needs “space to heal and be with the people who know who I really am”.
In his first interview since the allegations surfaced, Wallace described receiving “a tidal wave of abuse” on social media after sharing a video on Instagram criticizing his accusers.
He later apologised for the video, in which he claimed the accusations originated from “a handful of middle-class women of a certain age”.
“News channels were providing hourly updates with new allegations,” he recalled.
“You’re watching yourself being torn apart, criticised, accused of all sorts of things repeatedly. You’re thinking, this isn’t true. It isn’t true. What’s going to happen next?”
Wallace stated he had difficulty sleeping at the time, adding: “The feeling of being under attack, of isolation, of abandonment was overwhelming. Not a single person from the BBC contacted me once these stories began circulating – not a single individual.”
Both the BBC and Banijay declined to comment.
Wallace mentioned that during this period, his mother called to ask why people were “picking on him”.
He said he told her: “I’ve said something really foolish. They’re investigating my behaviour, but more and more people are making complaints about me. Mum, they’re not all true. I haven’t done these things.”
Wallace disclosed that his mother passed away recently, remarking that it was “terribly sad” she spent her final days reading “horrible things” about him.
Among those who spoke to BBC News for its investigation was broadcaster Kirsty Wark, who appeared on Celebrity MasterChef.
Wark claimed Wallace made “sexualised jokes” during filming, which she said left people feeling “uncomfortable”.
Wallace responded that he had not realised he had upset her until learning of it last year, saying: “I thought we got on.”
Other prominent media figures, such as Vanessa Feltz and Kirstie Allsopp, also addressed the issue at the time.
Wallace said Feltz’s comments had “knocked him for six”, and refuted Allsopp’s characterisation of his language, stating: “I wouldn’t have said that.”
Singer Sir Rod Stewart wrote on Instagram in November, describing Wallace as an “ill-mannered bully” and stating the presenter “humiliated” his wife Penny Lancaster on MasterChef in 2021.
Responding to Stewart, Wallace said it was “a shame” as he admired Sir Rod. He acknowledged there had been a “falling out” with Lancaster, but claimed it was regarding “whether an orchid should stay on a bowl of soup or not”.
Wallace also addressed further allegations from last year, including accusations of walking around set naked but for a sock.
He admitted to placing “a sock over my private bits” and opening his dressing room door while shouting “hooray”, but maintained it was directed at three friends in the studio after filming had concluded.
He conceded that some of the inappropriate jokes ascribed to him were “probably true”, saying: “Some things that have been said sound like the sort of comments I might have made.”
However, Wallace strongly denies ever groping workers, calling those allegations “absolutely not true”.
He added that many colleagues had offered their support, including his MasterChef co-host John Torode.
Torode has not responded to requests for comment.
Following the launch of the Banijay inquiry, Wallace said his “world tumbled in”.
“It’s extremely difficult to describe the pressure unless you’ve experienced it. I thought about suicide constantly: ‘Is my insurance up to date? Will [my wife] Anna receive some money? She doesn’t deserve this. Things would be better if I wasn’t here.'”
He told the Mail that Banijay had arranged crisis mentoring support for him.
Wallace recently received an autism diagnosis, clarifying: “I want to make clear I’m not attributing my behaviour to my diagnosis, but it does explain a great deal to me.”
He acknowledged being “slow to realise” the need to adapt to evolving workplace standards.
“It wasn’t until about seven years ago that I had a realisation that my extroverted on-screen persona might have outlived its usefulness. So I made changes.”
“I honestly never intended to offend anyone. I believed I was simply doing my job each day. I had no idea I was making anyone uncomfortable.”
Wallace has been recognised as one of Britain’s leading television presenters for more than twenty years.
BBC News, which maintains editorial independence, began investigating Wallace last summer after becoming aware of claims spanning five shows from 2005 to 2022.
Most of the accusations came from production staff, the majority being young female freelancers.
Allegations included claims that Wallace talked openly about his sex life, removed his shirt in front of a female colleague claiming he wished to “give her a fashion show”, and remarked to a junior female worker that he was not wearing underwear beneath his jeans.
BBC News also heard from a former MasterChef team member who alleged Wallace showed her topless photos of himself and requested massages, as well as from a former Channel 5 worker who said Wallace expressed curiosity about her personal relationships.
Another woman working on MasterChef in 2019 reported Wallace spoke about his sex life, while a BBC Good Food Show colleague in 2010 alleged Wallace stared at her chest. A male MasterChef team member said Wallace made sexually explicit remarks on set in 2005-06.
Following the initial BBC News report, further women came forward with complaints.
One described him touching her bottom at an event, while another said he pressed his crotch against her during filming for a different programme.
Wallace’s legal representatives have categorically denied any sexually harassing conduct.
Wallace has repeatedly declined to be interviewed by BBC News.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, further information and support are available via the BBC’s Action Line.
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