Wallace addresses claims after MasterChef scandal

Gregg Wallace has said he contemplated suicide after being hit by allegations of multiple instances of inappropriate behaviour, as he addressed specific claims by high-profile figures, including Penny Lancaster and Vanessa Feltz.

- ROISIN O'CONNOR

Last year, Wallace was accused of making “highly inappropriate” comments to 13 people across five shows over a 17-year period between 2005 to 2022, by media personalities such as former Newsnight host Kirsty Wark and actor Katy Brand. ,

He was also accused of “bullying” or inappropriate behaviour by celebrities, including Rod Stewart’s wife, former model Lancaster, and TV presenter Feltz. Speaking to the Daily Mail, the TV host said he had endured a “tidal wave of abuse” on social media after he posted a video on Instagram hitting out at the allegations, which he claimed came from “a handful of middleclass women of a certain age”.

“I hadn’t slept for four days,” Wallace said, explaining why he posted the clip, which he later apologised for. The feeling of being under attack, of isolation, of abandonment was overwhelming. Nobody from the BBC contacted me once these stories started breaking – absolutely nobody at all.”

He continued: “News channels were updating hourly with new allegations. There was a tidal wave of abuse on social media, a dozen reporters outside the gate. You’re watching yourself get personally ripped apart, criticised, accused of all sorts of stuff over and over again. You’re thinking, ‘This isn’,t true. It isn’t true. What’s coming next?”