Gregg Wallace was 'fascinated by my sex life and made lesbian jokes'

Television big Gregg Wallace has been accused of making "lesbian jokes constantly" by a pistillate who worked connected a question amusement with him.

The woman, who we are calling Anna, said helium was "fascinated" by the information she dated women and asked her the "logistics" of however it worked. She is 1 of a fig of workers crossed a scope of shows who came to BBC News with claims astir the TV presenter.

On Thursday, MasterChef's accumulation institution said Wallace is to measurement distant from presenting the amusement portion allegations of humanities misconduct are investigated.

Wallace's lawyers accidental it is wholly mendacious that helium engages successful behaviour of a sexually harassing nature. Masterchef's accumulation institution Banijay UK has launched an probe and said Wallace is co-operating.

• MasterChef's Gregg Wallace steps speech aft allegations

Other allegations the BBC has heard are that Wallace talked astir spanking and threesomes successful beforehand of crew.

In a video posted connected Instagram connected Thursday evening, Wallace said: "I would similar to convey each the radical getting successful touch, reaching retired and showing their support.

"It's bully of you - convey you precise much."

Warning - this nonfiction contains distressing content

Anna worked connected Gregg Wallace's Big Weekends successful 2019. She told america that Wallace regularly talked astir sex, and astir domination and spanking.

"[It] was highly inappropriate," she said.

She says helium besides perpetually made comments astir her intersexual orientation, including erstwhile helium met her partner.

“I day women and Gregg Wallace was fascinated by that," she said.

She added that helium asked her if she was "sure" she didn't privation to day men.

Another woman, who we are calling Georgina, worked connected the BBC's Eat Well For Less TV amusement with Wallace successful 2019.

She says helium would perpetually accidental inappropriate things to her, specified arsenic making comments that his woman was lone 2 years older than her.

"It made maine uncomfortable," she said. "What americium I meant to accidental successful effect to that?"

On different occasion, she says she had to spell to Wallace's car to benignant retired his parking summons for him.

She asked him if that was OK, to which helium allegedly responded: “You tin travel to my car, but tin you grip the information everyone volition deliberation you conscionable got disconnected with a celebrity?”

Both Georgina, and her colleague, who we're calling Lisa, besides accidental helium came retired of a bath topless successful beforehand of them erstwhile during a sprout and asked them to instrumentality his java order.

"[Wallace's] behaviour isn’t acceptable," Lisa said.

"To not lone proceed to enactment women successful these scenarios but to proceed publically platforming him is simply a disgrace to our manufacture standards."

Georgina said she refused to enactment connected a amusement with him afterwards.

Another young pistillate worker, who the BBC is calling Amanda, highlighted 2 experiences with Wallace portion filming the Channel 5 show, Gregg Wallace's Big Weekends, successful 2019.

The first, she said, was erstwhile they were travelling unneurotic by car. She said helium took retired his telephone and showed her photos of a pistillate successful her underwear.

A 2nd time, she said they had conscionable finished filming successful Italy and she took him backmost to his edifice room.

She said helium started showing them his outfits for the adjacent day, and past took disconnected his apical and said "let maine springiness you a manner show".

A antheral workfellow was initially successful the room, but she said helium past left, leaving her unsocial with Wallace.

She said she inactive remembers the Millwall tattoo connected his thorax and that she recovered the edifice country acquisition precise uncomfortable.

"It's weird to beryllium unsocial successful a country with a topless stranger."

BBC News, which is editorially autarkic from the wider organisation, started investigating Wallace successful the summer, aft becoming alert of allegations. The claims we person heard are from 13 people, crossed 5 shows, from 2005 to 2022.

One of them was the broadcaster Kirsty Wark, a Celebrity MasterChef contestant successful 2011, who said helium told "sexualised" jokes during filming.

On Tuesday, we sent a missive to Wallace’s representatives mounting retired allegations we person heard.

Two days later, it was announced that Wallace is to measurement distant from presenting MasterChef pending an investigation.

Since then, much radical person travel guardant with allegations astir the presenter.

Writing connected Instagram connected Thursday, vocalist Sir Rod Stewart described Wallace arsenic an "ill-mannered bully", and said the presenter "humiliated" his woman erstwhile she was connected MasterChef successful 2021.

BBC News has asked Wallace's representatives for a remark connected Sir Rod's post.

• A pistillate idiosyncratic connected MasterChef successful 2019, who said Wallace talked astir his enactment beingness and asked her if her caller fellow had a bully bottom
• A pistillate idiosyncratic connected the BBC Good Food Show successful 2010, who said Wallace stared astatine her chest
• A pistillate idiosyncratic connected Eat Well For Less successful 2019, who said Wallace told her helium wasn't wearing immoderate boxer shorts nether his jeans
• A antheral idiosyncratic connected MasterChef successful 2005-06, who said Wallace regularly said sexually explicit things connected set. He said Wallace erstwhile said a crockery tasted similar his aunt's vagina, and connected different occasion, asked a pistillate runner if she enactment her digit up her boyfriend's bottom
• A antheral idiosyncratic who worked connected Big Weekends and different question shows betwixt 2019 and 2022, who says Wallace talked astir threesomes with prostitutes and said helium "loves spanking" aggregate times a day

One of Britain's biggest commercialized unions says it was alert of allegations astir Wallace's behaviour.

"I’d similar to accidental I’m amazed by these reports, but... I conjecture my absorption is it was a substance of when, not if these stories started to emerge," Philippa Childs, caput of Bectu, told BBC News.

She said it was hard for freelancers to beryllium capable to marque complaints due to the fact that of the precarious quality of the industry.

"They’re ever acrophobic astir wherever their adjacent occupation is coming from oregon so are they going to beryllium capable to found themselves successful the industry," she said.

"So determination is rather a inclination not to report, to consciousness that it’s not harmless to report, to consciousness that adjacent if they bash report, the accumulation institution oregon the broadcaster are not going to instrumentality them earnestly and are not going to instrumentality enactment due to the fact that of the powerfulness that radical connected surface mightiness hold."

The allegations travel astatine a hard clip for the BBC.

In October, the BBC announced details of a reappraisal into preventing abuses of power, successful the aftermath of revelations astir Huw Edwards, formerly its astir elder quality presenter, who committed offences involving kid maltreatment images.

In November, BBC president Samir Shah said successful a code that determination "continues to beryllium a consciousness that almighty radical 'get distant with it'."

One MasterChef idiosyncratic we spoke to, who we’re calling Claire, thinks that however the manufacture responds to allegations is astatine the basal of the problem.

"We should beryllium getting amended astatine dealing with this, we should beryllium getting amended astatine shutting things down, and not allowing personage oregon fame oregon powerfulness to embolden radical to deliberation they tin enactment similar that, and dainty radical truly poorly."

Announcing its probe connected Thursday, Banijay UK, which produces MasterChef, said successful a statement: "This week the BBC received complaints from individuals successful narration to humanities allegations of misconduct portion moving with presenter Gregg Wallace connected 1 of our shows."

Wallace, 60, is "committed to afloat co-operating passim the process", it added.

Banijay's connection concluded by encouraging anyone who wanted to rise immoderate issues oregon concerns to travel forward.

A BBC spokesperson said: "We instrumentality immoderate issues that are raised with america earnestly and we person robust processes successful spot to woody with them."

A spokesperson for Channel 5, which airs Big Weekends, said: “We instrumentality immoderate allegations of this quality highly seriously.

"We person asked the accumulation institution to look into these humanities claims. The wellness and wellbeing of everyone progressive successful our productions is precise important to america and we privation each of our productions to beryllium harmless and unafraid places for radical to work.”

Production institution Rumpus, which produced Big Weekends, said: “We bash not tolerate inappropriate behaviour connected our productions.

"Our broad work of attraction processes were successful spot during accumulation of these bid and immoderate matters raised would person been investigated successful accordance with these.”