BBC warned of Wallace's alleged comments in 2017

The BBC was warned of Gregg Wallace allegedly making lewd comments and asking for the personal phone numbers of female production staff in 2022, it has been claimed.

- ATHENA STAVROU

Director and producer Dawn Elrick said she sent a letter to the corporation with a number of anonymous accounts from people who alleged they “have experienced sexism within the TV industry”.

The emergence of the letter, shared in a post on Instagram by Ms Elrick, came as a report was published by the The Times claiming the BBC received a complaint over comments made by Wallace in 2017.

It was reportedly sent in an email by broadcaster Aasmah Mir after she appeared on the 12th series of Celebrity Masterchef.

On Thursday, it was announced that Wallace was to step away from the BBC cooking show while historical misconduct complaints were externally reviewed by MasterChef producers Banijay UK.

The 60-year-old faces allegations of inappropriate sexual comments from 13 people across a range of shows over a 17-year period.

Wallace’s lawyers say “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.

In the letter Ms Elrick claimed to have sent to the BBC in 2022, she wrote: “I have noticed a pattern of behaviour from one person whose name has been mentioned half a dozen times.