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Gregg Wallace has responded to mounting allegations against him in a defiant video posted online, saying the accusations come from “middle-class women of a certain age”.

Wallace has stepped back from presenting the BBC cooking show MasterChef after accusations he made sexual comments towards staff and celebrity guests on a range of programmes over 17 years.

He said he has worked with more than 4,000 contestants over the years “of all different ages, all different backgrounds, all walks of life”.

“Apparently now, I’m reading in the paper, there’s been 13 complaints in that time,” Wallace said in the video posted on Instagram.

“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.”

In a second video, he said: “In 20 years, 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?”

The TV star’s lawyers said: “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”, BBC News reported.

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On Saturday Banijay UK, the production company which makes the programme, called for anyone wishing to report allegations of misconduct to contact Lewis Silkin, a legal firm appointed to lead an investigation.

A spokesperson said: “All information will be handled sensitively, and names of those providing evidence to the team will be kept confidential.”

Wallace has been a presenter on the programme since 2005, as well as its spin-offs Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals.

Wallace and Anne-Marie Sterpini in 2014
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Wallace and his wife, Anne-Marie Sterpini, in 2014

Banijay previously said he has “committed to fully co-operating throughout the process” after the BBC received complaints over “historical allegations of misconduct”.

This week Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark told the BBC she saw Wallace “use sexualised language in front of a number of people” when she appeared on Celebrity MasterChef in 2011.

Singer Sir Rod Stewart criticised Wallace on Instagram and claimed he “humiliated” his wife Penny Lancaster in 2021.

The presenter is yet to directly address any of those allegations.

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Gregg Wallace thanks supporters

On Friday, the charity Ambitious About Autism said it had dropped him as an ambassador citing the “recent allegations”.

Wallace has three children and his youngest, five-year-old Sid, is non-verbal and autistic.

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In October, 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 on Instagram that those claims had been investigated “promptly” at the time and said he had not said “anything sexual” while appearing on the game show.

In a video posted on Thursday, he said: “I would like to thank all the people getting in touch, reaching out and showing their support. It’s good of you, thank you very much.”

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Jaguar Land Rover to ‘pause’ US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

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Jaguar Land Rover to 'pause' US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The US president has introduced a 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into the country, which came into force on Thursday.

JLR, one of the country’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.

Follow live updates: Trump’s baseline 10% tariff kicks in

In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company behind the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover brands said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.

“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”

The company released a statement last week before Mr Trump announced a “baseline” 10% tariff on goods from around the world, which kicked in on Saturday morning, on what he called “liberation day”.

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JLR reassured customers its business was “resilient” and “accustomed to changing market conditions”.

“Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms,” the firm said.

Trading across the world has been hit by Mr Trump’s tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.

All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell on Friday – with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.

Read more: A red wall on Wall Street – but Trump seems to believe it will work out

Cars are the top product exported from the UK to the US, with exports worth £8.3bn in the year to the end of September 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

For UK carmakers, the US is the second largest export market behind the European Union.

Industry groups have previously warned the tariffs will force firms to rethink where they trade, while a report by thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said more than 25,000 car manufacturing jobs in the UK could be at risk.

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

Two people have died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness, Lincolnshire Police have said.

In a statement, officers said they were called at 3.53am on Saturday to a report of a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park in the village of Ingoldmells.

Fire and rescue crews attended the scene, and two people were found to have died.

They were reported to be a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.

The force said the victims’ next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specially trained officers.

Officers are trying to establish the exact cause of the blaze.

“We are at the very early stages of our investigation and as such we are keeping an open mind,” the force said.

Two fire crews remain at the scene.

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Boy dies after ‘getting into difficulty’ in lake in southeast London

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Boy dies after 'getting into difficulty' in lake in southeast London

A 15-year-old boy has died after “getting into difficulty” in a lake in southeast London, police say.

Officers and paramedics were called shortly after 3pm on Friday to Beckenham Place Park in Lewisham.

The Metropolitan Police said a boy “was recovered from the lake” at around 10.42pm the same day.

“He was taken to hospital where he was sadly pronounced dead. His death is being treated as unexpected but not believed to be suspicious,” according to the force.

The boy’s family has been told and are being supported by specialist officers.

The force originally said the child was 16 years old, but has since confirmed his age as 15.

In the earlier statement, officers said emergency services carried out a search and the park was evacuated.

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google street view inside Beckenham Place park, Lewisham where a 16 y/o boy is missing after getting into difficulty in a lake
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Emergency teams were called to Beckenham Place Park on Friday afternoon

Beckenham Place Park, which borders the London borough of Bromley, covers around 240 acres, according to the park’s website.

The lake is described as 285 metres long, reaching depths of up to 3.5 metres.

It is designed as a swimming lake for open-water swimming and paddle boarding.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said on Friday: “We were called at 3.02pm this afternoon to reports of a person in the water.

“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team.”

Emergency teams have not explained how the boy entered the water, or whether he was accompanied by others.

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