The TV presenter broke his silence after being sacked by the BBC following investigation that upheld 45 allegations against him
Gregg Wallace has defended his innuendo jokes whilst apologising for his conduct on MasterChef – acknowledging he had been “stupid, defensive and arrogant” after being axed from the show.
He acknowledged that numerous jokes on the programme were ‘sexual’ involving ‘spotted dick, nuts, the rim of a glass, little tarts’ but insisted food was ‘full of innuendo’ and used Channel 4’s Bake Off as an example of similar gags.
Wallace maintained it was never his “intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable” and now understands why participants may have hesitated to challenge his conduct at the time, worried it might jeopardise their prospects of winning his programme. The disgraced television personality also conceded he had been “completely wrong” to describe those who raised concerns about his unsuitable behaviour as “middle-class women of a certain age”.
Wallace explained he had “lashed out” as he felt “backed into a corner” and now recognises it was “hurtful and wrong’. However, he confessed he remains puzzled by his fall from grace and questioned ‘whether the standards by which I was judged were knowable in advance’. He stated he had dedicated 20 years to playing the ‘loud, cheeky greengrocer off the telly’ and adapted his conduct to fit a ‘culture that was engineered from the top down’.
Wallace alleged the programme’s producers would ‘whip us up with energy and excitement’, his role was to ‘put contestants at ease’ and he achieved it the ‘only way’ he knew how.
“I genuinely thought everyone thought it was hilarious,” he said. “I saw the people around me making these jokes and assumed they were a normal, encouraged part of workplace behaviour, and that when I did it it would be perceived the same way.
“Nobody ever told me otherwise. Nobody, not a director, producer, or colleague, ever said, ‘Oi, Gregg, pack it in’. In fact, it was the opposite. The energy was encouraged.”
Wallace was dismissed by the BBC last July following a seven-month investigation which upheld 45 complaints against him, including inappropriate sexual language and humour, ‘being in a state of undress’ and one instance of unwelcome physical contact. He has subsequently attempted to launch a new career as a personal trainer and shares healthy recipes on social media platforms including TikTok.
In an extensive apology published on media platform Substack, Wallace seemed to minimise what he described as the “most serious” allegations levelled at him.
He explained: “18 years ago in a closed studio with only myself and three friends present I came out of my dressing room wearing a shirt and a sock over my bits. Everybody fell about laughing. The investigation confirmed that everyone present was amused. Nobody was offended.
“Furthermore the investigation confirmed that none of these instances were sexually motivated. There was also one incident of physical contact. Seventeen years ago, at a party, I had my arm around a woman while we were talking and had my hand on her bum for at least five minutes.
“I believed it was consensual. I confirmed this myself during the investigation and the investigation noted that I believed it to be consensual.”
He was discovered in a ‘state of undress’ when somebody walked into his dressing room whilst he was changing. He had removed his shirt to have a microphone attached and lifted his T-shirt to ‘show off my six-pack’.
Wallace acknowledged the banter on the programme was ‘colourful’ and ‘sexual’, with jokes about ‘spotted dick’ puddings. However, he complained he was a victim of shifting attitudes.
Gregg, 61, wrote: “Let’s start with the one thing I can say, without any doubt, that I got completely wrong. When the media first reported the allegations made against me I went on social media and dismissed the people making complaints as ‘middle-class women of a certain age’.
“It was a stupid, defensive, and arrogant thing to say. I felt like I was being backed into a corner, and I lashed out. There’s no excuse for it. It was hurtful and wrong. It’s not what I truly believe, and I’m sorry for what I said.
“In that moment, I failed to listen, reflect, and respect. I’ve learned from that post that when you’re under fire, the first thing you should do is listen, not talk. That feeling of being backed into a corner was a reaction to a situation I still cannot fully comprehend.”
Whilst he described the humour on set as ‘bawdy’, he insisted it was no different to other programmes, including The Great British Bake Off, which continues to air.
He explained: “We’d make jokes you’d see on any episode of Bake Off, suggestive comments like the ones that regularly show up on The 1% Club. I would bring real high energy into that studio.
“And yes, many of the jokes were sexual. I relied on innuendo quite heavily. Food is full of innuendo. Spotted dick, nuts, the rim of a glass, little tarts…we leaned into it. All of us.
“I’d see cameramen making phallic shapes out of leftover ingredients on the bench. I’d join in conversations about sex and relationships because that’s what everyone in the studio was talking about.
“I wasn’t a lone wolf making crude comments in a silent office. I was part of an ensemble that was noisy, energetic, and yes, sometimes crude. That was the job. That was the culture. I behaved the way I thought was expected of me. My intent was always to participate appropriately and I believed I was doing so.”
Wallace revealed that ‘the rules changed’ in 2018 following a complaint on another programme, resulting in a formal warning for inappropriate and unprofessional language which left him ‘surprised’.
“It felt like a switch had flipped. Suddenly, the very thing I’d been rewarded for across five TV shows was a problem,” he remarked.
“It came as a complete shock, and I didn’t understand it. If the jokes were a problem, why was everyone still laughing? If the culture was toxic, why was I the only one being singled out?
“That same behaviour I was being called out for appeared to be tolerated and encouraged in others, and I found myself wondering what was allowed and what was a violation, because the distinction was never fully articulated.”
Wallace revealed that work had become ‘a terrifying place’ for him and that he had ‘stopped socialising with anyone’.
“I’d go to the production office and ask if I’d said anything wrong that day,” he explained.
“I’d phone bosses late at night asking if I was going to get in trouble. I was an unscripted presenter paid to be energetic and funny who was now terrified of opening his mouth.
“Now I want to be very clear. I am sorry for the upset I caused. It was never, ever my intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable. I can see now that it would be hard for someone to complain about a crude joke if everyone around them was laughing along, including management.
“I also never considered that contestants might not have spoken up for fear it would affect their chances in the competition. Those were failings on my part, and I take accountability for them. I accept responsibility for the impact of my actions.
“What I question is whether the standards by which I was judged were knowable in advance.”
Wallace’s MasterChef co-host John Torode, 60, was dropped after the BBC upheld a complaint that he had used an ‘extremely offensive racist term’ whilst filming – although he insisted he had ‘no recollection’ of the incident.
