Gregg Wallace, the presenter for the U.K. version of “MasterChef” who is currently under investigation, apologized for disparaging comments he made about his accusers.
Wallace has been accused by 13 different people of making inappropriate sexual comments to co-workers over a 17-year period. The misconduct allegations led to the BBC launching an investigation into Wallace’s past behavior and to him stepping down from “MasterChef.” On Sunday, Wallace dismissed the claims against him, suggesting that they’re from “a handful of middle-class women of a certain age.”
“I want to apologise for any offense that I caused with my post yesterday and any upset I may have caused to a lot of people,” Wallace said in an Instagram Story he posted on Monday.
The star went on to defend himself, saying that he “wasn’t in a good head space” when he originally made the post due to the fact that he’s been under “a huge amount of stress.” “I felt very alone, under siege yesterday when I posted it. It’s obvious to me I need to take some time out now while this investigation is underway. I hope you understand and I do hope that you will accept this apology,” Wallace concluded.
Banijay U.K., the production company behind “MasterChef,” previously reported that the BBC received complaints related to “historical allegations of misconduct while working with presenter Gregg Wallace on one of our shows.”
“Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay U.K., we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate,” the company said in a statement. “While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on ‘MasterChef’ and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process.”
Wallace first started co-presenting and judging “MasterChef” in 2005. He has also served as a presenter on “Celebrity MasterChef” and “MasterChef: The Professionals.”
