Report upholds 45 claims against ex-BBC star

TOTAL of 45 out of the 83 allegations made against former MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace during his time on the show were substantiated, including one allegation of “unwelcome physical contact, a report has said.

- KERRI-ANN ROPER

In November 2024, the show’s production company, Banijay UK, announced that Wallace would step away from his role on MasterChef while historical allegations of misconduct were investigated.

The report, led by law firm Lewis Silkin, found that the “majority of the allegations against Mr Wallace (94%) related to behaviour said to have occurred between 2005 and 2018", with only one allegation substantiated after 2018.

It concluded that the “majority of the substantiated allegations against Mr Wallace related to inappropriate sexual language and humour, adding that “a smaller number of allegations of other inappropriate language and being in a state of undress were also substantiated”, along with “one incident of unwelcome physical contact”.

The report noted that during the course of the seven-month investigation, Wallace was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, and said the findings should be viewed in the context of his neurodiversity.

It was found that “10 standalone allegations were made against other people, two of which were substantiated”, relating to inappropriate language, one for swearing and the other for racist language.

It said Wallace, 60, had been “cooperative and forthcoming” and was interviewed three times by the investigations team, for a total of more than 14 hours of interview.

But Banijay UK said “Wallace’s return to MasterChef [is] untenable”.