Charities criticise Wallace for linking autism diagnosis with misconduct claims

Gregg Wallace has come under fire from disability charities after appearing to link misconduct claims against him with an autism diagnosis.

- KATIE ROSSEINSKY

The former ‘MasterChef’ host disclosed his recent diagnosis in a statement earlier this week after being fired by the BBC (PA) The 60-year-old television presenter is facing multiple accusations, including claims that he made inappropriate sexual jokes, asked for the phone numbers of female production staff, and behaved unprofessionally around female colleagues on set. Wallace has denied these allegations.

In a statement about an investigation into those claims, the former MasterChef host said that he had recently been formally diagnosed with autism, and suggested that his neurodiversity was “suspected and discussed by colleagues across countless seasons” of the show.

He went on to add that TV bosses had failed to “investigate my disability” or “protect me from what I now realise was a dangerous environment”. A friend of the presenter doubled down on the claims, suggesting Wallace could not wear underwear “because of his autistic hypersensitivity to labels and tight clothing”.

However, Seema Flower, founder of disabilities consultancy BlindAmbition, told BBC News that there was “no excuse” for inappropriate behaviour and asked: “Where does it leave us if we use autism as an excuse to behave in whatever way we like?”