BBC MasterChef host Gregg Wallace has stepped away from presenting while allegations that he made a series of inappropriate sexual comments are investigated.
Former Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark is among 13 individuals who have levelled accusations of inappropriate sexual comments against Wallace.
Wallace is being investigated by MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK. In an interview with the BBC, Wark, who was a celebrity contestant on MasterChef in 2011, claimed Wallace used “sexualised language”.
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She said: “There were two occasions in particular where he used sexualised language in front of a number of people and it wasn’t as if it was anyone engaged with this. It was completely one-way traffic. I think people were uncomfortable and something that I really didn’t expect to happen.”
Banijay UK said 60-year-old Wallace who has worked on the cooking show since 2005, was “committed to fully cooperating throughout the process”.
The company said that although the complainants had not raised the allegations directly with MasterChef’s producers, it felt that it was “appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate”.
It added that its duty of care to staff was always a priority and its expectations regarding behaviour were made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set.
“Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately,” it said.
A BBC spokesman said: “Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them.”
Last month, Wallace responded to reports that a previous BBC review had found he could continue working at the corporation following reports of an alleged incident in 2018 when he appeared on Impossible Celebrities.
Wallace said those claims had been investigated “promptly” at the time and said he had not said “anything sexual” while appearing on the game show.
Recorded episodes of MasterChef: The Professionals featuring Wallace will be transmitted as planned, the BBC has said.
Kevin Poulter, partner in the employment team at law firm Freeths, said that given that the Worker Protection Act 2023, which came into force in October, puts an increased responsibility on employers to take proactive steps to protect employees from sexual harassment from colleagues and from third parties, it was not surprising that swift action had been taken.
He added: “The demand for transparency within the BBC as a public service means that we all hear about these issues which might otherwise remain confidential, at least for a time, in private companies. No doubt an investigation will follow, but it must be allowed to proceed in a fair and considered way, outside of public discourse.”
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