Nestle memo reveals BBC knew about ‘unacceptable’ behaviour from Gregg Wallace on factory show last year
The BBC was alerted to Gregg Wallace’s “unacceptable” behaviour while filming Inside The Factory more than a year and a half ago, Sky News can confirm.
A memo to staff at the Nestle factory in York shows concerns were raised with both the broadcaster and production company Voltage TV after Wallace’s final visit in February 2023.
The memo, which was shared on the company intranet, says the “experience of some of the team taking part in the filming had not been a pleasant one” and had “compromised” Nestle’s values.
An accompanying letter from Nestle’s head of media relations to the factory manager states: “We have written to the production company… and spoken to the BBC to bring our unacceptable experience to their attention in the hope that it is not repeated in other workplaces around the UK.”
While the letter does not name Wallace directly, it is understood to be in reference to him.
Wallace, who is best known for being a MasterChef presenter, is facing allegations of inappropriate behaviour from more than a dozen people across a range of shows over a 17-year period.
His lawyers have said it’s “entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.
Wallace quit as co-presenter of Inside the Factory in March 2023, saying he intended to focus on other TV commitments, and his young son, who is autistic.
At the time, there were reports the 60-year-old former greengrocer had offended some staff at the York factory with inappropriate comments.
The company’s memo reiterates a “zero-tolerance approach towards any allegation of discrimination, harassment or bullying of any kind in the workplace, whether this be by an employee, contractor, or visitor”.
Wallace presents MasterChef alongside John Torode (left). Pic: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
It was the programme’s fifth visit to a Nestle site and its third to York, but the memo says “we will not be working with Inside the Factory again in the future” as the show “did not meet our high standards of respect”.
“We will not tolerate any kind of racism, misogyny, homophobia, bullying, exclusion or harassment and we have strict policies in place to deal swiftly and decisively with this kind of behaviour,” the memo adds.
Sky News has contacted representatives for Wallace, and the BBC and Voltage TV for comment.
Earlier on Tuesday, the BBC confirmed it was pulling three repeat episodes of Inside The Factory from the Christmas schedule.
It told Sky News it would not be removing them from iPlayer “at this stage”.
Two celebrity MasterChef Christmas specials have also been removed from the schedule.
Wallace has temporarily stepped down from the cooking show while the complaints are externally reviewed by a law firm.
Groping allegation
More allegations against the presenter surfaced on Tuesday – with two women claiming Wallace had inappropriately touched them.
One told the BBC he “groped” her bottom, while another alleged he laughed after touching her bottom “with his waist and penis” when brushing past her.
A third claimed Wallace’s penis was partially exposed in his dressing room in what she felt was a “power play”.
The Guardian also reported a complaint that he once asked a sign language interpreter to translate “big boobs” and “sexy bum” in front of the audience at the BBC Good Food Show.
Sky News has also asked the BBC and Wallace’s representatives for comment on these claims.
An increasing number of people have accused the presenter of inappropriate sexual comments in recent days, including a former contestant who told Sky News one remark left her crying in the toilets.
Jackie Kearney said she had been “troubled” by Wallace’s “household favourite status” as she felt he was “a bit of a sleaze behind closed doors”.
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‘If it’s just banter then why am I crying in the toilet?’
Another former contestant told Sky News the claims are just the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to MasterChef.
He claimed to have witnessed a “toxic environment” on set and the problem was “larger” than just the presenter.
On Sunday, Wallace responded with a social media video dismissing his accusers as “middle-class women of a certain age”.
The remark prompted a huge backlash, with even Downing Street commenting.
He apologised in another clip on Monday, saying he “wasn’t in a good head space” when he posted the previous video.
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Wallace sorry for ‘middle-class women’ comments
Read more:
What are the allegations – and what has Wallace said?
‘Middle-aged women’: An epic failure in crisis management
What have the BBC and producers said?
Banijay UK has appointed law firm Lewis Silkin to lead the investigation.
A spokesperson said the company takes complaints “incredibly seriously” but will not comment on individual allegations while the external investigation is ongoing.
“It is important to note that MasterChef welfare processes are regularly adapted and strengthened and there are clear protocols to support both crew and contributors,” the Banijay spokesperson said.
“These include multiple ways of reporting issues, including anonymously.”
In response to reports 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”.
Last week, a BBC spokesperson said any issues raised are taken seriously and there are “robust processes in place” to deal with them.
“We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated,” they said.
Tommy Fury has opened up about having an alcohol problem – citing his drinking as the reason for his split from Molly-Mae Hague.
Hague, 25, shocked fans in August when she announced the end of her relationship with her then-fiancé, with whom she shares daughter Bambi, who turns two later this month.
Both stars had, until now, refused to publicly reveal the cause of the split. Fury, also 25, has now said the break-up came after he began “drinking quite a lot” while unable to train after hand surgery.
“I’d go out and just drink and drink and drink,” he told Men’s Health. “It went on that way for a long time.
“Most nights I would to drink to get black-out drunk. I think that’s what really took its toll on me.”
Shooting down claims he was unfaithful to Hague, Fury added: “Cheating was never a thing. You can ask Molly this yourself. It was the drink, and the drink is not a good thing. You need to get a grip of it.
“We broke up because I had a problem with alcohol and I couldn’t be the partner that I wanted to be anymore. It kills me to say it, but I couldn’t. I loved a pint of beer, loved to drink.”
Fury and Hague were together for five years. Pic: PA
Fury, who was seen spending New Year’s Eve with his ex, added he has “got himself out of that [drinking] now”.
Hague’s break-up announcement came just weeks after she had referred to Fury as the “love of my life” to mark their engagement anniversary on Instagram.
She later told Vogue UK: “No one will ever really know what went down apart from Tommy and I.
“I do think that he will talk about things eventually. I do think that when he’s ready, like, maybe more will be said. But I think that’s for him to do on his terms.”
More entertainment news:
BAFTA nominations revealed
Hollywood events delayed due to fires
Meanwhile, Fury labelled allegations he had cheated as “horrendous” and thanked “everybody who has stood by me through this”.
The pair met on Love Island in 2019 and welcomed their daughter in January 2023. Fury proposed seven months later in Ibiza.
Entertainment
BAFTA nominations 2025: Conclave, Emilia Perez and The Brutalist lead the race as shortlists revealed
This year’s BAFTA nominations have been revealed, with papal thriller Conclave leading the race.
Starring Ralph Fiennes as a clergyman responsible for the selection of the next Pope, the film is up for 12 awards – including best film, best director, best actor, and best supporting actress for Isabella Rossellini.
Spanish-language musical Emilia Perez, which tells the story of a Mexican cartel boss who undergoes gender affirmation surgery, is another best film nominee and has 11 BAFTA nods in total – with star Karla Sofía Gascón up for best actress and co-stars Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez both in the running in the supporting actress category.
Selena Gomez as Jessi and Karla Sofia Gascon as Emilia Perez in Emilia Perez. Pic: Why Not Productions/ Netflix
The Brutalist, an epic drama starring Adrien Brody as a Hungarian architect attempting to build a life in the US after the Second World War, has nine nominations – including best film and best actor, and supporting nods for co-stars Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones.
Elsewhere there are seven nominations each for Wicked, Anora, and Dune: Part Two, six for A Complete Unknown and Kneecap, and five for Nosferatu and The Substance.
Read more:
Conclave: ‘It’s not a facile takedown of the Catholic Church’
Selena Gomez on Emilia Perez: ‘It’s a little pat on the back’
Kieran Culkin on A Real Pain: ‘I’d get defensive’
Rappers Kneecap star in a self-titled music biopic about their rise to fame. Pic: Curzon Film
In the performance categories, Gascon is up against Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths), Mikey Madison (Anora), Saoirse Ronan (The Outrun) and Demi Moore, whose performance in body horror The Substance won her a Golden Globe earlier this month.
Fiennes and Brody’s best actor competitors are Timothee Chalamet, for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, along with Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Hugh Grant (Heretic) and Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice).
Kieran Culkin, another recent Golden Globe winner, makes the best supporting actor shortlist once again for his performance in A Real Pain, alongside Pearce and Yura Borisov (Anora), Clarence Maclin (Sing Sing), Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown) and Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice).
Demi Moore has already won a Golden Globe for her performance as an actress whose star is on the wane in The Substance. Pic: Mubi
Ariana Grande, who stars as Glinda opposite Erivo’s Elphaba in Wicked, and Jamie Lee Curtis, for her performance in The Last Showgirl, make up the best supporting actress shortlist.
For 14 of the 24 acting nominees – including Culkin, Grande, Gascon, Gomez and Moore – it is their first BAFTA film nomination.
Erivo and Chalamet are both previous recipients of the rising star award, which is voted for by the public.
Read more:
Sing Sing: The prison drama based on a true story
Kneecap rappers on their unlikely big-screen stardom
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in Wicked. Pic: Universal Pictures
In the best director category, Conclave’s Edward Berger is in the running alongside Brady Corbet, for The Brutalist, Denis Villeneuve, for Dune: Part Two, Jacques Audiard for Emilia Perez, Coralie Fargeat for The Substance, and Sean Baker for Anora.
Baker also has nominations for best original screenplay, casting and editing, making him the most nominated individual this year.
The BAFTAs also includes a category for outstanding British film, with Conclave also shortlisted here alongside films including Steve McQueen’s Blitz, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, and Irish-language film Kneecap – which stars the rap trio of the same name in a semi-autobiographical account of their rise to fame.
In total, there are 42 films up for awards, spanning a range of genres.
“The film industry has delivered in spades once again,” said BAFTA chief executive Jane Millichip.
“The skills on display from creative and technical practitioners across the board are phenomenal,” added BAFTA chair Sara Putt.
Could this be the most competitive BAFTAs for years?
What do you get if you bring several priests, a Mexican cartel leader and an architect together under one roof?
Not the world’s most niche fancy dress party, but 2025’s BAFTA film awards shortlist.
Jazz hands and jump scares are the order of the day. Horror is unusually well represented this year, with The Substance, Heretic and Nosferatu all receiving nods, while musicals are also dominating thanks to Emilia Perez, Wicked and, arguably, the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown.
Speaking of music, it’s very good news for Irish language rappers Kneecap, whose self-titled semi-true biopic is up for best British film and five other awards. It’s somewhat ironic given that while they rap about wanting Irish independence, the film qualifies as being British as they’re from Northern Ireland.
In the leading actress category, it’s all to play for as none of the nominees has ever won a BAFTA. Fans of ’90s nostalgia will be hoping the Demi-ssaince continues after Demi Moore’s Golden Globe win last month for her performance in body horror The Substance.
Hugh Grant, up for lead actor, last won that BAFTA back in 1995 for his breakthrough performance in Four Weddings And A Funeral. This time around, he’s in the running for a very different role, as a creepy killer in Heretic. He’s nominated alongside another ’90s winner – Ralph Fiennes, who last picked up a BAFTA for supporting actor in 1994.
The nominations this year really showcase a diverse range of genres – and with no clear frontrunners in some categories, could this be the most competitive BAFTAs we’ve seen in a while?
Read more:
The full list of films and stars up for awards
Oscar nominations and other events affected by LA fires
The nominees for this year’s rising star award, which is the only BAFTA prize voted for by the public, have already been announced, with Marisa Abela, Jharrel Jerome, David Jonsson, Mikey Madison and Nabhaan Rizwan in the running.
And Harry Potter star Warwick Davis has also been revealed as the recipient of this year’s BAFTA fellowship, the organisation’s highest honour, for his “trailblazing work” as an actor and for his charity supporting people with dwarfism.
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Marisa Abela is among the rising star nominees
The BAFTA nominations come at a difficult time for the industry, with the organisers of several US awards ceremonies, including the Oscars, pushing their own announcements back and holding more low-key events due to the wildfires in Los Angeles.
However, the Oscars ceremony is still currently scheduled to go ahead as planned on Sunday 2 March.
The BAFTA ceremony will be held at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London on Sunday 16 February.
There are 42 films up for awards at this year’s BAFTA ceremony, from blockbusters to indie breakthroughs.
Organisers have now revealed the shortlists, with papal thriller Conclave leading the nominations, followed closely by Spanish-language musical Emilia Perez, and post-war epic The Brutalist.
The star-studded BAFTA ceremony will take place in London on Sunday 16 February.
Here’s the full list of the stars and films up for each prize.
Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Lawrence in director Edward Berger’s Conclave. Pic: Focus Features 2024
BEST FILM
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Emilia Perez
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
Bird
Blitz
Conclave
Gladiator II
Hard Truths
Kneecap
Lee
Love Lies Bleeding
The Outrun
Wallace And Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Rappers Kneecap star in a music biopic about their rise to fame. Pic: Curzon Film
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
Hoard – Luna Carmoon (director/ writer)
Kneecap – Rich Peppiatt (director, writer)
Monkey Man – Dev Patel (director)
Santosh – Sandhya Suri (director, writer), James Bowsher (producer), Balthazar de Ganay (producer)
Sister Midnight – Karan Kandhari (director, writer)
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
All We Imagine As Light
Emilia Perez
I’m Still Here
Kneecap
The Seed Of The Sacred Fig
DOCUMENTARY
Black Box Diaries
Daughters
No Other Land
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Will & Harper
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. Pic: Netflix
ANIMATED FILM
Flow
Inside Out 2
Wallace And Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
CHILDREN’S & FAMILY FILM
Flow
Kensuke’s Kingdom
Wallace And Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
DIRECTOR
Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – Brady Corbet
Conclave – Edward Berger
Dune: Part Two – Denis Villeneuve
Emilia Perez – Jacques Audiard
The Substance – Coralie Fargeat
Mikey Madison in Anora. Pic: Neon/Augusta Quirk
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold
Kneecap – Rich Peppiatt, Naoise O Caireallain, Liam Og O Hannaidh, JJ O Dochartaigh
A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
The Substance – Coralie Fargeat
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
A Complete Unknown – James Mangold and Jay Cocks
Conclave – Peter Straughan
Emilia Perez – Jacques Audiard
Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes
Sing Sing – Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence ‘Divine Eye’ Maclin, John ‘Divine G’ Whitfield
LEADING ACTRESS
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Karla Sofia Gascon – Emilia Perez
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths
Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance
Saoirse Ronan – The Outrun
Ariana Grande (left) as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in Wicked. Pic: PA
LEADING ACTOR
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Timothee Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Hugh Grant – Heretic
Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Selena Gomez – Emilia Perez
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Felicity Jones – The Brutalist
Jamie Lee Curtis – The Last Showgirl
Isabella Rossellini – Conclave
Zoe Saldana – Emilia Perez
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Yura Borisov – Anora
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice
Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce in The Brutalist. Pic: A24
CASTING
Anora – Sean Baker, Samantha Quan
The Apprentice – Stephanie Gorin, Carmen Cuba
A Complete Unknown – Yesi Ramirez
Conclave – Nina Gold, Martin Ware
Kneecap – Carla Stronge
CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Brutalist – Lol Crawley
Conclave – Stephanie Fontaine
Dune: Part Two – Greig Fraser
Emilia Perez – Paul Guilhaume
Nosferatu – Jarin Blaschke
EDITING
Anora
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Perez
Kneecap
Timothee Chalamet as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. Pic: Searchlight Pictures
COSTUME DESIGN
Blitz
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Nosferatu
Wicked
MAKE-UP & HAIR
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Perez
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked
ORIGINAL SCORE
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Perez
Nosferatu
The Wild Robot
Demi Moore in The Substance. Pic: Mubi
PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked
SOUND
Blitz
Dune: Part Two
Gladiator II
The Substance
Wicked
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
Better Man
Dune: Part Two
Gladiator II
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes
Wicked
Robbie Williams is depicted as a chimpanzee in Better Man. Pic: Paramount Pictures
BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
Adios
Mog’s Christmas
Wander To Wonder
BRITISH SHORT FILM
The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing
Marion
Milk
Rock, Paper, Scissors
Stomach Bug
EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
Marisa Abela
Jharrel Jerome
David Jonsson
Mikey Madison
Nabhaan Rizwan
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