Gregg Wallace’s MasterChef return ‘untenable’ as report upholds 45 claims against presenter

A report into misconduct allegations against Gregg Wallace has upheld 45 allegations against the MasterChef presenter.

An investigation by law firm Lewis Silkin heard 83 allegations from 41 different people, all relating to his time on the BBC show.

It found 45 allegations were substantiated after interviewing 78 witnesses and analysing documents and unedited programme footage.

The majority of substantiated allegations related to inappropriate sexual language and humour, while a small number related to being in a state of undress.

One allegation of unwanted physical contact was also substantiated.

Production company Banijay, which is behind MasterChef, said the report findings made Wallace’s return to the programme “untenable”.

The presenter “stepped away” from hosting the long-running cooking competition late last year following the allegations.

The BBC apologised to “everyone who has been impacted by Mr Wallace’s behaviour” and said it had no plans to work with him in future.

A decision has yet to be made on whether the new series of MasterChef, which features Wallace and was filmed last year, will be broadcast.

Wallace has already admitted some of his humour and language was “inappropriate” and issued an apology. 

However, earlier this month he said the report cleared him of “the most serious and sensational accusations”.

The report heard allegations spanning from 2005 - 2024. It found that six complaints were raised with Banijay over the 19-year period and six were flagged to the BBC. Formal action was taken by the production company in 2015 and the BBC in 2017.

The report found that freelance staff “often felt unable to raise issues due to concerns of potential impact on future employment”.

Patrick Holland, chief executive of Banijay, apologised to anyone impacted by Wallace’s behaviour and said the company was reviewing its welfare policies.

Last week Wallace announced he had recently been diagnosed as autistic but said “nothing was done” by MasterChef to investigate his disability or protect him from "what I now realise was a dangerous environment for over 20 years”.

The announcement sparked backlash from some autism charities for appearing to link allegations of inappropriate behaviour to his diagnosis.

Holland said: “Whilst acknowledging Mr Wallace’s autism diagnosis, which is relevant to certain behaviours identified in the report and accepting that the production could have done more to identify, manage and communicate patterns of inappropriate behaviour, the volume and consistency of substantiated allegations, ranging between 2005 and 2024, make Gregg Wallace’s return to MasterChef untenable.

“We are extremely sorry to anyone who has been impacted by this behaviour and felt unable to speak up at the time or that their complaint was not adequately addressed.”

A BBC statement said: "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.”

Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said the report showed a “long-standing failure to protect people against unacceptable workplace behaviour”.

In a lengthy Instagram post earlier this month, Wallace said he was hired by the BBC and MasterChef as “the cheeky greengrocer”.

He lashed out at the BBC in his post saying: “I will not go quietly”.

The TV personality has fronted MasterChef, Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals since 2005 as well as appearing on shows such as Saturday Kitchen and Inside the Factory.

Wallace has been contacted for further comment.