Gregg Wallace: New Allegations Rock MasterChef Legacy

Gregg Wallace’s alleged inappropriate behaviour first came to the public’s attention in November 2024, when the BBC reported that thirteen people had made allegations regarding inappropriate sexual comments Wallace allegedly made over a seventeen-year period and across five different programmes.

Wallace’s lawyers responded to the initial allegations by denying that he had engaged in any behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.

Wallace then suffered a backlash after posting a video to his Instagram page, stating the allegations relating to his behaviour had come from a “handful of middle-class women”.

In December 2024, it was reported that three further women had come forward with allegations against Wallace, with two of those individuals accusing Wallace of inappropriate touching.

As discussed in our previous blog in December 2024, the initial allegations in 2024 against Wallace may have been the ‘tip of the iceberg’.

An independent investigation

Following the initial allegations, Banijay UK (the production firm behind MasterChef) instructed law firm Lewis Silkin to investigate the allegations. 

The Banijay UK investigation report has yet to be published, and whilst a statement released ahead of publishing the report has cleared Wallace of the most serious allegations, the report confirms instances of “inappropriate language” between 2005–2018. 

As a result, Wallace has now been dismissed from MasterChef.

Wallace’s response

Wallace responded in a forceful statement, by acknowledging his use of “inappropriate language” at times and apologised “without reservation”, whilst asserting that he has been cleared of the most serious claims and that many accusations were “clickbait”.  Wallace criticised the BBC for sensationalised reporting and insisted that key allegations were false.

In a widely shared comment, Wallace has expressed defiance:  “I will not go quietly. I will not be cancelled for convenience.” 

Wallace also revealed an autism diagnosis, claiming his neurodiversity was neither acknowledged nor supported during his twenty-one years at the BBC, a failure Wallace says has “now being quietly buried”. Wallace further reported being hospitalised with a suspected heart attack as the news broke.

What has now been revealed?

In this unfolding story, on 8th July 2025, BBC News revealed that more than fifty individuals have submitted new allegations against Wallace of inappropriate conduct, including former presenters, contestants and crew.

The new allegations against Wallace range from making sexualised jokes on professional settings, exposing himself and groping.

Specific allegations include:

• Pulling down his trousers and exposing himself in front of a junior staff member in 2012;
• Making sexual remarks to a nineteen‑year‑old contestant; and
• Groping a crew member during a wrap party.

Industry fallout and responses

Philippa Childs, the Head of Bectu (the UK’s union for the creative industries) has highlighted a systematic issue that many claims against Wallace have come from “young female freelancers” who were in fear of retaliation from a powerful figure, further reflecting the broader structural challenges in TV production.

BBC executives are reportedly now weighing up their options regarding a full MasterChef season featuring Wallace that has already been filmed, and that heavily editing or pulling the season of the show would disadvantage contestants and crews.

Wallace’s view is that he was “hired as the cheeky greengrocer – now that’s a problem”, and what started as a beloved TV personality has become a lightning rod for wider conversations about workplace culture, safeguarding, neurodiversity, and media accountability.