Gregg Wallace apologises over ‘women of a certain age’ video
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.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
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.
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?
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 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.
An amber warning has been issued for snow in a part of the UK, likely to cause travel delays and “stranding some vehicles and passengers”.
The warning, which covers south west England, also warns some rural communities could become cut off and is in place until 2pm this evening.
Pic: Met Office
There is also a yellow weather warning for snow covering the southern counties of England until midnight on Wednesday.
The warning stretches from Kent to Cornwall and up to south London and the Met Office said between 2cm and 5cm of snow could accumulate fairly widely, with as much as 10cm over higher ground.
This week is expected to see the coldest nights of the year, with temperatures potentially reaching -14C on Wednesday night and -16C on Thursday night, both in the North East of England and Scotland, the Met Office said.
Weather warnings issued on Tuesday for snow and ice covering the parts of Wales, the North West of England, west and northern parts of Scotland as well as Northern Ireland will remain in place until midnight tomorrow.
The forecaster said some roads and railways are likely to be affected and there could be icy patches on untreated roads.
Pics: AP
Meanwhile the Environment Agency has said at least 300 properties have flooded across England since New Year’s Eve. It estimates more than 41,000 properties have been protected.
Heavy rainfall over the New Year caused significant river and surface water flooding across the North West of England and Yorkshire and snowmelt has brought further disruption to parts of England, particularly the Midlands, the agency said.
Read more from Sky News:
Terrifying firestorm rips through home of film stars and billionaires
Homes destroyed – how people are coping with floods
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Man says flooding ‘came out of nowhere’
Floods minister Emma Hardy said: “My sympathies go out to the people, businesses and communities impacted by the recent flooding across the country.
“I want to express my heartfelt thanks for the vital work that the Environment Agency and emergency services are doing to keep people safe. People must continue to follow their advice and sign up for flood warnings.”
Flood warnings
Some 100 flood warnings were in force across England on Wednesday, with people urged to remain vigilant over the coming days.
A danger-to-life warning was issued on Tuesday morning for the River Soar near Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, but was later removed.
People living in caravan parks in the area were urged by the Environment Agency to act, with a large-scale evacuation needed to save lives.
Firefighters have rescued dozens of people across Leicestershire since Monday, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said.
Hundreds of schools were closed across the UK, with road and rail links blocked, as Manchester, Bristol and Liverpool John Lennon airports suspended flights because of the conditions.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports9 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway