GREGG Wallace has been fired by the BBC following a nine month investigation into claims of misconduct against him.
However, the Masterchef star was exonerated of the most serious allegations levelled against him including accusations of groping.
Gregg was accused of making a series of inappropriate comments[/caption]
Gregg has put out a statement on Instagram today after being informed of the decision by production company Banijay.
He wrote: “I have taken the decision to speak out ahead of the publication of the Silkins report – a decision I do not take lightly.
“But after 21 years of loyal service to the BBC, I cannot sit in silence while my reputation is further damaged to protect others.”
The report is officially due out on Thursday, but his legal team have been given an early steer, according to insiders.
Last night a source said: “Gregg is both furious and devastated about how things have played out.
“His team have seen the report and believe he is cleared of the most serious wrongdoing allegations, so he has taken great consolation from that.
“Whilst he is not excusing his inappropriate comments and innuendos – some of which he has been found against – on his recent autism diagnosis, this has been a mitigating factor.
“He has also been cleared of some of the higher profile allegations, including those brought on by Penny Lancaster and Kirsty Wark, but the BBC has made it clear there is no way back for him. He is devastated.
“There have been so many people involved in all of this and obviously everyone, bar Gregg who now has nothing to lose, has a vested interest in protecting the money-spinning Masterchef brand.”
News of his axing comes nine months after production company Banijay launched an investigation into his behaviour on the smash BBC1 show, inviting anyone who had worked or appeared on it to share their experiences.
Thirteen complaints from women – which later rose to 30 – about historical allegations of misconduct were investigated, whilst Kristy Wark, Penny Lancaster, Vanessa Feltz, and Kirstie Allsopp also spoke out.
He was again publicly vilified after taking to Instagram to slam the lurid allegations coming from “a handful of middle-class women of a certain age”.
So widespread was the outrage that even Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer condemned his comments as ‘”completely inappropriate and misogynistic.”
The dad of three was also brutally trolled on social media by viewers.
Whilst his tenure at the corporation is now over, he will be vindicated of some of the more high profile allegations thrown at him.
These include the bullying allegations brought by Penny Lancaster – prompted by husband Rod Stewart’s Instagram revelation describing Gregg as an “ill-mannered bully” who “humiliated” his wife on Celebrity Masterchef in 2021 – which were dismissed by Silkins after forensic analysis of the rushes.
Gregg has been cleared of allegations made by Penny Lancaster[/caption]
Kirsty Wark’s allegations have also been dismissed[/caption]
Rod Stewart spoke out against the treatment of Penny[/caption]
Gregg also gave evidence stating the falling-out was over whether an “orchid should stay on a bowl of soup or not”.
The Newsnight anchor’s evidence was also discredited after investigators were told she had been “dining out” on telling stories about Gregg including at the Edinburgh festival last year.
The claims of Gregg’s constant innuendos, which left crew in tears, former contestant Jackie Kearney have also been thrown out, it is understood.
The chef, who appeared on the show in 2011, coming fourth, and later returned as s guest judge, said she had been “troubled” by the former greengrocers’s “household favourite status”, as she felt he was “a bit of a sleaze behind closed doors”.
There are two further clear categories in which he is believed to have been cleared altogether: nicknames for staff which some considered “demeaning” and being “direct” with contestants, both of which the investigation team say were unintentional.
Gregg Wallace – MasterChef scandal in Brief
GREGG Wallace has stepped down from his MasterChef hosting role after a probe into alleged inappropriate behaviour. But what’s the situation?
Regular MasterChef host Gregg Wallace is currently the subject of a probe after an investigation was launched into his alleged misconduct over a number of years.
Gregg has been accused of making sexual remarks to 13 colleagues including Beeb anchor Kirsty Wark – accusations he denies.
The 60-year-old has now stepped away from the BBC show while historical misconduct allegations against him are investigated.
Yet the former greengrocer spoke out on social media to blast the “women of a certain age” who he claimed were behind the allegations.
The cooking show’s production company, Banijay UK, has said law firm Lewis Silkin would lead the investigation into Wallace’s alleged misconduct.
It is understood his recent autism diagnosis has been used to explain away much of his language and inappropriate behaviour, and will be described as “unintentional” offence on Gregg’s part.
Again, investigators in the main attribute this to his autism and “black and white thinking”.
However, several allegations have been upheld, including that he got his private parts out, covered by a sock and opened his dressing room door shouting “hooray.”
He has also been found against in terms of his inappropriate language and repetition of sexualised jokes.
And pre-2018, he has a handful of bullying allegations upheld against him – but with “heavy caveats” in all cases.
The corporation is under enormous pressure to save money, and is unlikely to offer Gregg any former of pay-our or a redundancy package.
Gregg with wife Anna and their son Sid[/caption]
Three months ago the under-fire host, who has not been publicly backed by his long-standing Australian co-presenter, gave an interview in which he apologised for some of his actions, and any offence caused.
Gregg, awarded an MBE for services to food and broadcasting in 2022, also revealed he had had an autism diagnosis midway through the investigation.
He admitted that some of the inappropriate jokes were “probably true”, saying: “Some of what’s been said sounds like the sort of comments I’d have made.”
The star added: “I want to make it absolutely clear I’m not blaming my behaviour on my diagnosis, but it does explain a hell of a lot to me.
“Although I’m still trying to compute why, if my persona on the telly was pissing so many people off for all those years, nobody told me at the time.”
Gregg – pictured here with John Torode – will no longer be able to work for the BBC[/caption]
