Gregg Wallace ‘touched MasterChef assistant on the bum’ claims celebrity winner

Gregg Wallace is accused of touching a young MasterChef assistant’s bum with his hands.

In recent days, Gregg, 60, has been accused of making inappropriate sexual remarks and jokes by 13 people over a 17 year period. In a statement sent via the aid of his legal representatives, he vehemently refuted the allegations. Wallace has also been accused of groping others after leaving the BBC cooking program in the wake of an internal investigation.

He addressed the allegations on Instagram on Sunday despite the fact that his statements have previously been made through his official representatives. The cooking expert made a point on Instagram by criticizing those who had accused him and saying that he had never had any complaints since working on screens for 20 years. He claimed that some of the women on MasterChef had made sexual comments of their own and that their accusers were “a small number of middle-class women of a certain age.”

Emma Kennedy, who appeared on the 2012 Celebrity MasterChef season, has since shared her own experiences with Times Radio. Although she admits she never saw Gregg as a “sexual predator”, she claims she did witness “inappropriate behaviour”. Speaking to Times Radio, Emma said: “I went into the studio and it was me and Greg and the photographer’s assistant and the photographer’s assistant was a young woman, very attractive young woman, and she was bending over dealing with some equipment.

And as she bent over, Gregg in front of me turned around and put his hands on her buttocks before laughing as if it were a joke. “When asked by presenter Ayesha Hazarika to confirm that Wallace’s hands were on the young woman’s bum, Emma continued:” I think I, now the angle that I was at, I cannot say for 100% but she did instantly react, so I do believe that he touched her. Yes.

“I, it was like a combination of things. It’s like, I believe, at first, I thought he felt at ease saying that in front of another woman. But I think, and I am going to make this distinction, I don’t think he did it as an act of sexual aggression. He probably did it because he thought it was funny, in my opinion. She went on to tell Times Radio: “And I can only speak about, you know, my experience with Gregg and although I saw quite a lot of inappropriate behaviour, I never sort of felt, okay, you’re a sexual predator. He was evil, I never thought. But what I did think, but what I did think was that he just doesn’t understand that some behaviour is completely inappropriate. And I said to him at the time, you can’t do that stuff, Gregg. And it sort of went in one ear and out the other, I think”.

Ayesha praised Emma for acting on the spot but when asked about Gregg’s reaction, Kennedy replied: “Well, as I say, I think it just went in one ear and out the other. His fundamental flaw is, in my opinion, that he simply doesn’t understand it. Emma claims she was “very aware” that the young woman hadn’t reported the incident.

She had just arrived that morning, and the show’s star had done something inappropriate, so the young woman is never going to say a word about it. Emma continued, claiming she had spoken with a producer, producer, and MasterChef’s head of publicity but had no idea what was done.

The broadcaster claims she had no formal discussion about her complaint and that she felt “they were well-used to it,” adding, “This is Gregg being Gregg.” She later claimed that a member of the MasterChef team had spoken to her after another incident and that she had been told, “When will the Gregg Wallace problem come to light?”

It would be wrong to report that the BBC has not done anything when or when issues have been raised with us, not least because it is already widely reported that there have been interventions in both 2017 and 2018 where action has been taken. This is especially true when there is an ongoing process being run by Banijay who have the direct contractual relationship with Gregg Wallace.

We continue to advise caution when judging any of this, particularly the BBC staff’s involvement and any conclusions that they have drawn incompetently. We take any concerns that are raised with us seriously and have effective procedures in place to handle them, according to a BBC spokesperson. We are always making it clear that any behavior that does not meet the standards set by the BBC will be tolerated.

“We share any complaints or concerns with an external production company when we are contracted directly with them,” states the statement. “We will always help them when we are addressing them.” We wouldn’t be able to make any comments on anything that might be used to influence or influence Banijay’s ongoing investigation.

Banijay UK, a production company for MasterChef, has since confirmed that Lewis Silkin has been hired to oversee the investigation into Wallace’s alleged misconduct. While working with Wallace, the production company discovered that individuals had complained to the BBC about “historical allegations of misconduct.” A spokesperson for Banijay UK said: “Lewis Silkin is a significant City law firm with a highly qualified specialist investigations team that has handled a variety of highly regarded workplace investigations. Banijay UK has been impressed by the firm’s rigorous, in-depth, and impartial analysis and reporting”.

They said anyone wishing to raise further concerns could contact the investigation team via atbanijayinvestigation@lewissilkin.com. The spokesperson added: “All information will be handled sensitively, and names of those providing evidence to the team will be kept confidential”. They stated earlier this week that Wallace is “committed to fully cooperating throughout the process.”

Following complaints from individuals about past allegations of misconduct, Gregg left last week. Kirsty Wark, a former Newsnight host, is one of 13 people who allege the MasterChef presenter made inappropriate sexual remarks.

After the production company for the show confirmed that the complaints to the BBC are currently being investigated, the allegations came to light on Thursday. Wallace, who started a greengrocer company in 1989 which grew to a turnover of £7.5 million, is cooperating with the probe.

It is entirely false that Wallace acts in a sexually harassing manner, Wallace’s attorneys contend.

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Source: Mirror