Gregg Wallace has launched legal action against the BBC after his dismissal from MasterChef, according to filings with the High Court.
He was sacked from the long-running programme in July after an inquiry into allegations of inappropriate conduct on set.
The inquiry, commissioned by production company Banijay, upheld 45 allegations against the presenter.
Gregg Wallace
Most of the allegations involved inappropriate sexual language and humour on set, and one allegation of unwanted physical contact was substantiated.
Although the case has been filed at the High Court, few details have been made public yet. BBC News has reported that the case involves a data protection claim.
Following the publication of the inquiry’s report, Wallace claimed that “none of the serious allegations against me were upheld”. He also accused the BBC and Banijay of failing to support him with an autism diagnosis.
In a statement on Instagram before the report was published, Wallace said: “I recognise that some of my humour and language, at times, was inappropriate. For that, I apologise without reservation. But I was never the caricature now being sold for clicks.”
After the publication of the report, his co-host John Torode was also sacked after a separate claim of using a “severely offensive racist term” was upheld by the inquiry.
The BBC has not commented on the legal action yet, explaining that it has not yet been formally notified of proceedings.
The corporation decided to broadcast this season of MasterChef featuring Wallace and Torode as it had already been filmed. It has since announced two new hosts for the upcoming series, Grace Dent and Anna Haugh.
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