A REPORT into Gregg Wallace’s inappropriate behaviour has revealed two more people are facing a probe over fresh allegations.
The MasterChef star, 60, who was diagnosed as autistic midway through the investigation into complaints against him, was sacked after the BBC concluded he is unable to change his ways.
The BBC have sacked the MasterChef star[/caption]
A bombshell report into Gregg Wallace’s alleged behaviour revealed two further allegations[/caption]
The inquiry was carried out by law firm Lewis Silkin for production company Banijay.
The report found out of the 83 allegations against Wallace, 45 were substantiated.
Most of them involved inappropriate sexual language and humour.
The investigation also looked at 10 complaints made about other people on MasterChef.
Two were substantiated, relating to inappropriate language, one for swearing and the other for racist language.
“Lewis Silkin’s findings include two further allegations which were upheld, relating to other individuals,” stated the report.
“The BBC takes these findings very seriously and we have asked Banijay UK to take action to address these issues, which is underway.
“This will be completed as a priority.”
Of the substantiated claims relating to Wallace, some related to other inappropriate language, being in a state of undress, and one case of unwanted physical contact.
The report concluded 94 per cent of the allegations against Wallace related to behaviour which is said to have occurred between 2005 and 2018.
There was only one substantiated allegation after 2018.
In addition, the report stated Wallace’s behaviour made people uncomfortable.
The TV star’s comments on set were sometimes met with laughter and they were only occasionally challenged at the time, the report found.
In a statement last week, Wallace told how he had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
Investigators noted this as “highly relevant”, in understanding his difficulty reading social cues and use of humour as a “masking technique”.
The report has stated many people who worked on MasterChef were freelancers, who hesitated to make any complaints.
They claimed this was because they feared the stability of their jobs.
This saw the investigation rule there was an inadequate complaints and behavioural policy before 2016.
It found there was little or no formal training, or clear escalation procedures in place.
This resulted in underreporting and normalisation of inappropriate behaviour, the report stated.
It was revealed 19 people said they raised concerns about Wallace but only 11 formal, or informal, complaints were made about his behaviour on MasterChef between 2005 and 2024.
Of these 11 identified complaints, eight were recognised as such at the time.
The other three were treated as comments, and no action was taken.
Four of the eight recognised complaints were raised with both the production company and the BBC, two with the production company only, and two with the BBC alone.
The BBC gave Wallace a formal warning in 2017 following a complaint.
The TV star removed himself from social settings and sought advice from colleagues to avoid further problems, it was stated.
The BBC have since announced the possibility of Gregg returning to MasterChef was “untenable”.
A “final decision” on whether the latest season of the show will be aired will “not be made at this stage”, the broadcaster added.
The Beeb also said it takes the “findings very seriously” and will prioritise addressing “two further allegations” upheld against Gregg.
The full statement read: “We welcome the publication of the findings by Lewis Silkin, following the investigation into the conduct of Gregg Wallace.
“In light of these findings, Banijay UK and the BBC have agreed Mr Wallace’s return to MasterChef is untenable.
“The BBC has informed Mr Wallace we have no plans to work with him in future.
“The investigation details a substantial number of allegations of inappropriate conduct spanning 19 years.
“This behaviour falls below the values of the BBC and the expectations we have for anyone who works with or for us.
“Although the full extent of these issues were not known at the relevant time, opportunities were missed to address this behaviour – both by the production companies running MasterChef and the BBC.
“We accept more could and should have been done sooner.
“We want to thank all those who took part in the investigation, including those who first raised concerns directly with the BBC in November last year.
“We apologise to everyone who has been impacted by Mr Wallace’s behaviour.
“Lewis Silkin’s findings include two further allegations which were upheld, relating to other individuals.
“The BBC takes these findings very seriously and we have asked Banijay UK to take action to address these issues, which is underway. This will be completed as a priority.
“The BBC will not be commenting further at this stage, but we are clear we expect the highest standards of respect at work to be upheld on the production.
“At this stage we are not going to make a final decision on the broadcast of the series that was filmed last year.
“We know this is disappointing for fans of the show and those who took part and at the appropriate time Banijay UK will consult further with the amateur contestants.
“In April the BBC published a detailed response to an independent review of workplace culture, which reinforces expectations around behaviour and that we will act more decisively when standards are not met.
“This also requires all TV production partners to align with the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) standards.
“We want to reaffirm, there is no place for the abuse of power, unacceptable behaviour or language at the BBC, or shows made for the BBC.”
What did the report find?
FORTY-five allegations made against Gregg Wallace during his time on MasterChef, including one of “unwelcome physical contact”, were found to have been substantiated.
An independent report commissioned by production company Banijay assessed 83 allegations against Wallace.
The report substantiated:
– Twelve claims he made inappropriate jokes and innuendo;
– Sixteen reports he made sexually explicit comments;
– Two allegations that he made sexualised comments to or about someone;
– Four complaints that he made culturally insensitive or racist comments;
– Three claims that he was in a state of undress;
– Seven allegations of bullying;
– One allegation of unwanted touching.
The allegations span from 2005 to 2024
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