Gregg Wallace ‘questioned about inappropriate sexual comments made to female employee’

Gregg Wallace’s future on MasterChef is said to be in doubt following reports of inappropriate comments he allegedly made to a female BBC staff member.

It is claimed the 59-year-old judge ‘made inappropriate sexual comments’ on game show Impossible Celebrities and took off his top in front of a staff member in 2018.

According to reports, he was also accused of being rude and insulting to women on another program last year.

This comes amid several scandals at the BBC, following the sacking of Jermaine Jenas, allegations against professional stars on Strictly Come Dancing and the conviction of Huw Edwards.

A source claimed: ‘There are questions to be asked about the decision to allow Gregg to continue with MasterChef despite these previous incidents.

‘The BBC say they are keen to clarify issues around workplace culture but have allowed Gregg to remain on a flagship show despite allegations about his behaviour.’

The Sun notes that the 2018 incident was only reported last week, with the insider continuing: ‘Gregg was accused of making inappropriate comments to a younger, female member of the production team.

‘He would brag about his sex life with his partner at the time.

“At one point, Gregg was also accused of taking off his top in front of the woman, which felt inappropriate.

‘Gregg seemed to think it was all just banter and is said to have made some comments to the live audience as well.’

The team working on the show were said to be ‘mortified’ and told BBC bosses ‘what had happened’.

Wallace was ordered to change his behaviour, it is claimed, after the BBC ‘took immediate action’.

“He made it clear that he didn’t mean anything by what he said,” it was reported.

According to the publication, a statement from the BBC said: ‘While we do not comment on individuals, any issues that arise will be dealt with quickly and appropriately.

“We do not tolerate any form of inappropriate behavior and have robust processes in place.”

Wallace declined to comment to The Sun.

This comes after allegations made by Wallace ‘derogatory banter towards female staff in Inside The Factory, which he stopped presenting in March last year after claiming he wanted to spend more time with his four-year-old son.

It was later claimed that his interaction at the Nestlé factory contributed to his resignation, as he was accused of being “rude to staff” and “talking in a derogatory manner, especially to women”, and that he was “shocked ‘ would have been because he had caused ‘such a crime’.

Wallace has since broken his silence on the claims, saying on Good Morning Britain last week: ‘There was an argument in Inside The Factory. The reporting is not accurate. There was a problem and I thought this was the perfect time to come out.

‘Insult people? No, no. When you look at the headlines, you don’t see a story that matches those headlines. But there was a problem; I don’t want to discuss what the problem was.

“But I thought it was a good time – Mom needs help with Sid at home, running across the country to get to those factories – I thought it was a good time to give something up.”

Former greengrocer Wallace was accused of making comments that were deemed inappropriate and believed to be related to the weight of the women at the facility, but were not sexual in nature.

A source told The Times that staff involved said they would be reluctant to join the show if it returned with Wallace at the helm.

They continued, “(Wallace) felt like he was just trying to be friendly, but couldn’t remember what the right thing to say was and decided to leave.”

After the initial comments, a Nestlé insider added: “He jokes, but he comes from a completely different world than our employees.”

Nestle itself said: ‘Nestlé UK has been proud to host Inside the Factory five times since the series began.

“We filmed another episode. . . and would be open to participating in future episodes or similar projects.’

Metro.co.uk has contacted the BBC and Gregg Wallace’s representative for comment.

Do you have a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or our ‘Submission of items’ page. would love to hear from you.

MORE: Return of beloved ’90s characters in new movie will ‘make everyone cry’

MORE: Lennie James: ‘Mr. Loverman would be pointless without those intimate scenes’

MORE: BBC star Clive Myrie furious with ‘crazy’ heckler over ‘spreading Israeli propaganda’