U.K. MasterChef Host Gregg Wallace Breaks His Silence Over Misconduct Allegations

Gregg Wallace, host of the UK version MasterChefposted a video message amid accusations of sexual misconduct.

Representatives of Wallace, 60, were sent a letter dated November 26, detailing inappropriate sexual comments made by 13 people who worked with him over 17 years, BBC News reports. Two days later, multiple media outlets reported that MasterChef production company Banijay UK said the host was stepping down from the program while the allegations were investigated.

On Sunday, Dec. 1, Wallace spoke about the reports and reflected on his “22 years” of working on MasterChef show, which airs on the BBC, in a selfie video on his Instagram Stories. His latest statement follows a short message of thanks to fans who “showed their support” earlier this week.

“I think in that time I’ve worked with over 4,000 competitors of all ages, different backgrounds, all walks of life,” he said. “And apparently now, I read in the papers, there were 13 complaints at the time. Now, in the papers, I can see complaints coming from a handful of middle-class women of a certain age – just from The famous MasterChef. This is not right.”

UK MasterChef Host Gregg Wallace will step down amid allegations of misconduct

Gregg Wallace in July 2023.

David M. Bennett/Dave Bennett/Getty

In the following clip, Wallace reiterated how long he’s hosted the show — while also listing several other programs he’s been a part of. “In more than 20 years of television, can you imagine how many women – contestants – on MasterChef did you make sexual remarks or sexual allusions? Can you imagine?”

“Look, this is important to me,” he added. “20 years … do you know how many staff, all kinds of staff, you know how many staff complained about me in that time? Absolutely nobody. Zero. Seriously.”

Wallace also shared screenshots of supportive comments from fans and former colleagues on his Instagram Stories amid the allegations

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TV personality, who was a co-host MasterChef since 2005, Scottish television presenter and journalist Kirsty Wark has accused her of telling “sexualised” jokes during filming while she was The famous MasterChef contestant in 2011, according to BBC News.

The outlet also reported that the BBC once warned Wallace after two women complained about his behavior in 2018 on the show Impossible celebrities. He reportedly “openly spoke about his sex life to staff on the show” and later apologized.

Gregg Wallace at the 2023 Rose d’Or Awards at Kings Place in London on November 27, 2023.

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Rod Stewart calls Gregg Wallace a ‘chubby, bald, uneducated thug’, says he ‘humiliated’ woman on Celebrity MasterChef

The BBC notes that it began investigating Wallace last summer after learning of the allegations between 2005 and 2022, and as part of five different series he worked on.

“There were two particular occasions where he used sexualized language in front of a number of people, and it wasn’t like anyone was addressing it,” Wark told BBC News. “Traffic was completely one-way, but I think people were uncomfortable, and [it was] something I didn’t really expect to happen.”

According to multiple media outlets, including BBC News, Wallace’s lawyers have since called it “absolutely false that he is engaging in conduct of a sexually harassing nature.”

In a statement obtained by Deadline and The Hollywood Reportersaid Banijay UK: “While these complainants have not made allegations directly to our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel it is appropriate to carry out an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate.”

“We take all questions raised seriously and have robust processes in place to deal with them,” a BBC spokesperson told PEOPLE in a statement. “We have always been clear that any behavior that falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.”

After news of Wallace’s departure from the UK broke MasterChef, Rod Stewart also called out the host for his alleged abuse of wife Penny Lancaster while she was a contestant The famous MasterChef 2021 “Good Riddance Wallace… You humiliated my wife while she was on the show, but you took that part out, didn’t you?” he wrote. “You are a fat, bald, uneducated thug. Karma caught you.”

Representatives for Wallace did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Stewart’s claims at the time.

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