Gregg Wallace accusers criticise his response to allegations

Two of Gregg Wallace's accusers have criticised his response to allegations of historical misconduct, after he said they had come from a "handful of middle-class women of a certain age".

One of his accusers said the comments showed he "clearly hasn't learnt his lesson", while another said he wrongly "seems to be saying he's the victim of classism".

In a video posted to Instagram on Sunday, the presenter said there had been "13 complaints" from "over 4,000 contestants" he had worked with in 20 years on the BBC show MasterChef.

Wallace stepped aside earlier this week after a BBC News investigation revealed allegations of inappropriate sexual comments and inappropriate behaviour against him.

The investigation heard from 13 people spanning a range of ages, who worked across five different shows.

Wallace's lawyers have strongly denied he engages in sexually harassing behaviour, while the BBC said it will “always listen if people want to make us aware of something directly”.

The 60-year-old told his more than 200,000 followers earlier on Sunday: "I've been doing MasterChef for 20 years - amateur, professional and Celebrity MasterChef - and I think in that time I have worked with over 4,000 contestants of all different ages, all different backgrounds, all walks of life.

"And apparently now, I'm reading in the paper, there's been 13 complaints in that time.

"Now, in the newspaper I can see the complaints coming from a handful of middle-class women of a certain age just from Celebrity MasterChef. This isn't right."

He finished his statement by saying: "In over 20 years of television, can you imagine how many women, female contestants on MasterChef, have made sexual remarks or sexual innuendo - can you imagine?"

Wallace also reposted screenshots of supportive messages received from people who said they were former contestants on the show or had worked with him.

Anna, not her real name, was part of a group that raised a complaint about Wallace in 2018 after working with him.

Reacting to the Instagram video, she told BBC News she was "not surprised he's trying to minimise and dismiss the people who have bravely come forward".

"He clearly hasn't learnt his lesson," she added. "I’m interested to see what consequences he’ll finally be facing from the BBC and [MasterChef production company] Banijay UK for his behaviour towards women of all ages.

"While they decide, maybe Gregg should use this time to reflect on and take some accountability for how he abused his position of power instead of adding flames to the fire on social media."

Another accuser, James, also not his real name, said Wallace's video response "seems to be saying he's the victim of classism".

"His humour isn't typically working-class or prone to misinterpretation: from my perspective, its main purpose is to test boundaries, make other people (especially women) uncomfortable, and display his power within the room," he said.

"And it's not just women who are offended - plenty of men are too, it's just that far too few of them have the host called out on his bad behaviour."

Another woman, who previously worked with Wallace but is not one of the 13 people involved in the BBC News investigation, called the video "so dismissive of the people that have come forward", especially younger women.

"I don’t know what class and age have to do with it," she added.

Actress Emma Kennedy, who won Celebrity MasterChef in 2012 and says she complained about Wallace's behaviour at the time, said "it doesn’t matter what the age of any woman is".

She added: "Playing the 'they’re having a go at me because I’m working class' card is ridiculous."

TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend about an encounter with Wallace several years ago that left her "so embarrassed", after he "made a reference to something [he and his partner] did in bed".

She said Wallace's latest comments were "unacceptable", adding: "He is essentially saying this is a class issue and middle-class women don't understand the type of things he says because he's working-class."

On Thursday, Banijay UK said Wallace would step away from presenting the show while allegations of historical misconduct were investigated.

He is "committed to fully co-operating throughout the process", Banijay added.

It came after BBC News sent a letter to Wallace's representatives, setting out allegations we have heard from 13 people, across a 17-year period.

One of them was broadcaster Kirsty Wark, a Celebrity MasterChef contestant in 2011, who said he told "sexualised" jokes during filming.

It comes as broadcasters and production companies face fresh questions over their handling of allegations against Wallace.

Radio host Aasmah Mir said she initially complained to Banijay in 2017 about inappropriate comments Wallace had allegedly made during filming of the programme. It is believed she then had to take her complaint to the BBC.

In an internal email, BBC executive Kate Phillips, who now heads up unscripted programmes for the corporation, said his behaviour on set was “unacceptable and cannot continue," the Sunday Times reported.

She added she would make sure that she was "informed straight away" should further allegations be made against him.

Mir later sent an email that was copied to Phillips, saying: "This must not happen again to another woman."

Some of the allegations against Wallace in the BBC News investigation relate to events after 2017.

There was another complaint in 2018, which our investigation revealed, relating to a different show called Impossible Celebrities.

A BBC probe at the time found his behaviour was “unacceptable and unprofessional” and he got a 90-minute talking to by Ms Phillips.

Separately, the Observer says a letter containing multiple claims of inappropriate behaviour by Gregg Wallace was sent to the BBC in 2022, but did not result in further investigation at the time.

A BBC source said on Sunday "it would be wrong to report the BBC has done nothing if or when matters have been raised with us".

"We continue to urge caution about pre-judging any of this, particularly the involvement of BBC staff members and any inference they have not acted appropriately," the source told BBC News.

On Saturday, Banijay UK announced it had appointed "rigorous" law firm Lewis Silkin to lead an investigation into Wallace's alleged misconduct.