More accusations have been made against TV presenter Gregg Wallace. It comes in the wake of him stepping away from hosting hit BBC show MasterChef while a review into complaints is conducted.
The cooking programme’s production company Banijay UK said on Thursday that the BBC had received complaints from people about “historical allegations of misconduct” while working with Wallace, a presenter of MasterChef since 2005. The firm said that Wallace is “committed to fully co-operating throughout the process”.
Since then, there were reports on Friday evening in news outlets such as The Sun about other alleged behaviour by Wallace. Now, speaking today, Banijay UK has confirmed the appointment of law firm Lewis Silkin to lead an investigation into Wallace’s alleged behaviour.
A spokesperson for the production company said: “Lewis Silkin is a major City law firm with a highly experienced specialist investigations team which has overseen a broad range of high-profile workplace investigations. Banijay UK has been impressed by the firm’s rigorous, in-depth, and impartial analysis and reporting.”
The spokesperson added: “All information will be handled sensitively, and names of those providing evidence to the team will be kept confidential.” Yesterday, the charity Ambitious About Autism announced it had dropped Wallace as an ambassador and referred to the “recent allegations”.
That came a day after Wallace – also a presenter on Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals – thanked his followers in an Instagram video. In it, he said: “I would like to thank all the people getting in touch, reaching out and showing their support.
“It’s good of you. Thank you very much.”
BBC News reported on Thursday that Wallace, 60, faces allegations from 13 people across a range of shows over a 17-year period. Among them is former Newsnight host Kirsty Wark.
Wallace’s lawyers say “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”, BBC News reported. A BBC spokesman said it takes any issues raised “seriously”.
They said “any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated”. “It would be inappropriate for us to comment on anything that could form part of Banijay’s ongoing investigation or otherwise influence it,” the corporation said.
Following allegations raised by staff members about Wallace’s behaviour on Gregg Wallace’s Big Weekends to BBC News, Channel 5 asked the programme’s production company Rumpus Media to look into the accusations. Rumpus Media said: “We do not tolerate inappropriate behaviour on our productions.
“Our comprehensive duty of care processes were in place during production of these series and any matters raised would have been investigated in accordance with these.”
Banijay UK said anyone who wants to raise further concerns can contact the investigation team via [email protected].