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MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace has apologised for his response to claims he made sexual comments towards staff and celebrity guests on a range of programmes over 17 years.

At the weekend, the BBC host issued a defiant response to mounting allegations against him, dismissing his accusers as “middle-class women of a certain age” in a series of videos posted on Instagram.

His comments were met with huge criticism – including from Downing Street, where a spokesperson for the prime minister described them as “completely inappropriate and misogynistic” – while industry union Bectu has said the allegations also raise questions about wider cultural issues.

Now, in a follow-up clip shared this afternoon, Wallace has said: “I want to apologise for any offence that I caused with my post yesterday and any upset I may have caused to a lot of people.

“I wasn’t in a good head space when I posted it I’ve been under a huge amount of stress a lot of emotion I felt very alone, under siege yesterday when I posted it.

“It’s obvious to me I need to take some time out now while this investigation is under way. I hope you understand and I do hope you accept this apology.”

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Gregg Wallace’s initial response to allegations

Wallace has stepped away from presenting MasterChef while the allegations, which were made public last week, are looked into.

More on Gregg Wallace

His lawyers have said “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.

Broadcaster Kirsty Wark is among 13 people who have made claims, with the presenter being investigated by MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK.

One former contestant told Sky News the allegations against the 60-year-old are just the “tip of the iceberg” – claiming he witnessed a “toxic environment” and was so “horrified” he considered quitting the show on his first day. The problem was “systemic” and “larger” than just the presenter, he said.

Read more:
An epic failure in crisis management
What are the allegations – and what has Wallace said?

Pic: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock

John Torode, Greg Wallace
'This Morning' TV show, London, UK - 29 Aug 2023
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Wallace (right) has presented MasterChef with John Torode for years. Pic: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock

Earlier on Monday, the prime minister’s official spokesman said Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy had spoken with BBC leadership last week, about Wallace and “wider workplace culture” issues.

“Clearly the comments we have seen from the individual over the weekend were completely inappropriate and misogynistic,” the spokesperson said.

“More broadly the BBC is conducting an independent review into workplace culture which must deliver clear and timely recommendations. It’s essential that staff and the wider public have confidence that the BBC takes these issues seriously.”

Former Celebrity MasterChef contestants Ulrika Jonsson, Kirstie Allsopp and Emma Kennedy were among those who criticised Wallace’s response to the initial allegations.

Kirstie Allsopp arrives at BBC Broadcasting House in London. Pic: Jonathan Brady/PA
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Kirstie Allsopp is among the stars who have spoken out about Wallace. Pic: Jonathan Brady/PA 2024


‘They think they’re untouchable’

Labour MP Dr Rupa Huq, who sits on the culture, media and sport committee, said the comments showed “an astonishing lack of self-awareness” from the presenter.

She told Sky News: “Middle class, what’s that supposed to mean? That working class people like a bit of bawdy humour? And, ‘of a certain age’? That kind of behaviour is just not acceptable.”

The controversy raises questions about the “imbalance” in the industry, Ms Huq said, and how presenters and “talent” can be “cosseted”.

“The reason why older women feel able to speak out is that they’re at a position in their career that they feel able to say this, whereas I think you’ve got huge imbalances in broadcasting. The presenters, probably, cosseted, they’re being told they’re talent, they think they’re untouchable, they can get away with this kind of thing.

“So many of these allegations keep surfacing that it is time to investigate them. At the other end, you’ve got the younger runner or whoever, who is very eager to please, in these precarious short-term contracts, who doesn’t want to speak out of line and be gone. So it raises questions about that show and about the wider industry.

“On the committee, we have looked at these kind of issues before, but it it will feel to the viewer that these kind of scandals just keep happening.”

In response to reports that multiple complaints had been raised with the BBC, a source for the corporation said it would not comment on individuals or any internal HR processes, but that it would be “wrong to report the BBC has done nothing if or when matters have been raised with us – not least because it is already being widely reported there were interventions in both 2017 and 2018 where action was taken”.

Allegations were also raised by staff members about Wallace’s behaviour on Channel 5’s Gregg Wallace’s Big Weekends to BBC News, with producer Rumpus Media saying it would be investigating allegations of “inappropriate behaviour”.

Banijay UK has confirmed it has appointed law firm Lewis Silkin to lead an investigation into Wallace’s alleged behaviour.

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Migrants to be deported to France ‘within weeks’ – as Farage vows to scrap human rights law

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Migrants to be deported to France 'within weeks' - as Farage vows to scrap human rights law

Nigel Farage has said he would scrap the UK’s human rights law to enable the mass deportation of illegal migrants, as the government reportedly prepares to send more than 100 small boat arrivals back to France.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph ahead of a speech later today, the Reform leader said the Human Rights Act would be ripped up should he become prime minister.

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He would also take the country out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and other international treaties, describing them as “malign influences” which had been “allowed to frustrate deportations”.

Pulling Britain out of the ECHR would make it one of only three European countries not signed up – the others being Russia and Belarus.

The UK’s Human Rights Act, Reform say, would be replaced by a British Bill of Rights. This would only apply to British citizens and those with a legal right to live in the UK.

Small boat arrivals would have no right to claim asylum. They would be housed at old military bases before being deported to their country of origin, or third countries like Rwanda.

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Will Starmer’s migration tough talk deliver?

One in, one out

Sir Keir Starmer, meanwhile, is said to be ready to implement one of his major policies to tackle the small boats crisis within weeks.

According to The Times, the one in, one out migrant deal he signed with France’s Emmanuel Macron earlier this summer will soon see more than 100 people sent back.

The newspaper reported there are dozens of migrants currently in detention, including some arrested over the bank holiday weekend, who could be among the first sent back to France.

In exchange, the UK would be expected to take an equal number of asylum seekers in France with ties to Britain.

Read more: How will the one in, one out deal work?

Sir Keir Starmer hopes his deal with Emmanuel Macron will help. Pic: Reuters
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Sir Keir Starmer hopes his deal with Emmanuel Macron will help. Pic: Reuters

A record 28,288 people have crossed the Channel in small boats this year. The total is 46% higher than at the same stage last year.

More boats were seen crossing on Monday, though the figures won’t be published by the Home Office until later.

Sir Keir is under mounting pressure within his own party to grip the issue, with Sir Tony Blair’s former home secretary Lord Blunkett warning the public “will turn on” him.

But they may already have – a YouGov poll over the weekend found 71% of people think the prime minister is dealing with the small boats crisis badly.

Protests have taken place outside hotels used to house asylum seekers over the weekend, and the government is braced for more legal challenges from councils over their use.

Labour have taken a battering in the opinion polls throughout 2025, with Reform consistently in the lead.

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Three die and a fourth in serious condition in hospital after helicopter crash on Isle of Wight

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Three die and a fourth in serious condition in hospital after helicopter crash on Isle of Wight

Three people have died following a helicopter crash during a flying lesson on the Isle of Wight.

A fourth person is in hospital in a serious condition following the incident, according to Hampshire Police.

Officers were called to the scene of a “helicopter that had come down” off Shanklin Road near Ventnor at 9.24am on Monday, the force said.

A spokesman for the aircraft’s owner Northumbria Helicopters said G-OCLV – which is listed as a Robinson R44 II helicopter – was involved in the accident during a flying lesson.

Fire and rescue vehicles at the scene near Ventnor. Pic: Stu Southwell
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Fire and rescue vehicles at the scene near Ventnor. Pic: Stu Southwell

Aerial view of the crash site
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Aerial view of the crash site

Helicopter ‘spiralled out of sight’ – live updates

Four people, including the pilot, were on board the aircraft, which departed nearby Sandown Airport at 9am, the company also said in a statement.

A critical care team, including a doctor and specialist paramedic, was also sent to the crash site, Hants and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance added, alongside fire engines and other emergency vehicles.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch confirmed it was alerted to the incident and is sending a team to investigate. A major incident was declared but has since been stood down.

A spokesperson for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance said in a statement: “We have treated and airlifted one patient to the Major Trauma Centre, University Hospital Southampton. Our thoughts are with them, and everyone involved in today’s incident.”

Darren Toogood, editor and publisher at the Island Echo, told Sky News presenter Kamali Melbourne the helicopter crashed on a “significantly busy, high-speed road” between the village of Godshill and the seaside town of Shanklin.

“It was on one of the first flights of the day,” he said.

“It’s a bank holiday weekend in August on the Isle of Wight. It’s an incredibly busy area. Lots of tourists down at the moment. It appears no vehicles were involved, which is incredible, given how busy this road would have been this morning.”

A witness, Leigh Goldsmith, told the Isle of Wight County Press she saw the helicopter “spiralling” before crashing into a hedge as she drove along the road.

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Police have closed Shanklin Road, blocking it off with several emergency vehicles, and are warning people to avoid the area.

Northumbria Helicopters said it is “giving its full cooperation to the authorities investigating this incident”.

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Ten organisations write urgent letter to home secretary over violence against women and girls strategy

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Ten organisations write urgent letter to home secretary over violence against women and girls strategy

Ten child protection organisations have written an urgent letter to the home secretary expressing concern about the omission of child sexual abuse from the government’s violence against women and girls strategy, following a Sky News report. 

Groups including the NSPCC, Barnardo’s and The Internet Watch Foundation wrote to Yvette Cooper to say that violence against women and girls (VAWG) and child sexual abuse are “inherently and deeply connected”, suggesting any “serious strategy” to address VAWG needs to focus on child sexual abuse and exploitation.

The letter comes after Sky News revealed an internal Home Office document, titled Our draft definition of VAWG, which said that child sexual abuse and exploitation is not “explicitly within the scope” of their strategy, due to be published in September.

Poppy Eyre when she was four years old
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Poppy Eyre when she was four years old

Responding to Sky News’ original report, Poppy Eyre, who was sexually abused and raped by her grandfather when she was four, said: “VAWG is – violence against women and girls. If you take child sexual abuse out of it, where are the girls?”

The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, which is funded by the Home Office and a signatory to the letter, estimates 500,000 children in England and Wales are sexually abused every year.

The NSPCC “welcome” the government’s pledge to halve VAWG in a decade, but is “worried that if they are going to fulfil this commitment, the strategy absolutely has to include clear deliverable objectives to combat child sexual abuse and exploitation too”, the head of policy, Anna Edmundson, told Sky News.

Poppy is a survivor of child sexual abuse
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Poppy is a survivor of child sexual abuse

She warned the government “will miss a golden opportunity” and the needs of thousands of girls will be “overlooked” if child sexual abuse and exploitation is not “at the heart of its flagship strategy”.

The government insists the VAWG programme will include action to tackle child sexual abuse, but says it also wants to create a distinctive plan to “ensure those crimes get the specialist response they demand”.

“My message to the government is that if you’re going to make child sexual abuse a separate thing, we need it now,” Poppy told Sky News.

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Rape Crisis, which is one of the largest organisations providing support to women in England and Wales, shares these concerns.

It wants plans to tackle child sexual abuse to be part of the strategy, and not to sit outside it.

The internal Home Office document detailing its violence against women and girls strategy
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The internal Home Office document detailing its violence against women and girls strategy

“If a violence against women and girls strategy doesn’t include sexual violence towards girls, then it runs the risk of being a strategy for addressing some violence towards some females, but not all,” chief executive Ciara Bergman said.

A Home Office spokesperson said the government is “working tirelessly to tackle the appalling crimes of violence against women and girls and child sexual exploitation and abuse, as part of our Safer Streets mission”.

“We are already investing in new programmes and introducing landmark laws to overhaul the policing and criminal justice response to these crimes, as well as acting on the recommendations of Baroness Casey’s review into group-based Child Sexual Exploitation, and the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse,” they added.

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