Gregg Wallace comment left me crying with humiliation, former MasterChef contestant claims
A former MasterChef contestant has told Sky News that Gregg Wallace made innuendos “constantly” during filming and was heard by crew members – and that one sexually inappropriate comment left her in tears.
Jackie Kearney, who is now a chef and recipe book author, finished fourth in the BBC cooking show in 2011, and later returned as a guest judge.
Following the rise of the #MeToo movement in 2017, she told Sky News correspondent Ashna Hurynag she felt it was “only a matter of time” before claims of Wallace‘s alleged inappropriate comments emerged.
She said she had been “troubled” by his “household favourite status” over the years, as she felt he was “a bit of a sleaze behind closed doors”.
Warning – this story includes offensive comments of a sexual nature
Wallace, 60, has stepped away from hosting MasterChef while allegations he made sexual comments towards staff and celebrity guests, on a range of programmes over 17 years, are investigated.
His lawyers have said “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.
During her time on the show, Kearney said the presenter would make “sexual innuendos about women when they weren’t in earshot”, as well as in front of them.
She said: “There were several times that he would comment on my legs, or comment on the skirts I was wearing… he made a comment once: ‘If I’d known you had legs like that, maybe you’d have made it further’.”
Gregg Wallace’s lawyers say ‘it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature’. Pic: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
In 2015, Kearney published the first in a series of books about vegan food. Following the publication of her second in 2017, she returned to MasterChef as a guest judge and said she wanted to give Wallace and his co-presenter John Torode a copy.
“I was feeling really proud of it,” she said. “John as ever was a complete gentleman.” Wallace was “in the middle of filming”, she said, in the studio having his make-up retouched when she approached him.
“There was crew everywhere and he was mic’ed up,” she said. “I came into the studio and was like, ‘Hi Gregg, I’ve got something for you!’ And he said, ‘Oh, is it a present for my cock?'”
Kearney says Wallace’s co-presenter John Torode (left) was always ‘a complete gentleman’. Pic: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
‘Nobody said anything’
Kearney said she was so shocked that she stopped still.
“I felt like I wanted the ground to swallow me up. The humiliation and embarrassment… but it wasn’t just about what he said. I felt so humiliated, I felt so stupid.”
She said she walked away “as quickly as possible”, went to the toilets and cried.
“The tears were about feeling humiliated, feeling small, feeling made to feel ‘less than’. I also went around that day hating what I was wearing because he’d already commented on my legs earlier that day.”
Kearney thought someone on the crew might speak to her afterwards.
“As I came out of the toilets, I thought maybe someone would come up to me and ask me, you know, ‘Are you okay?’ Nobody said anything.”
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Kirstie Allsopp is among the former Celebrity Masterchef contestants who have spoken out. Pic: Jonathan Brady/PA
She said there was “no way” other people did not hear Wallace’s “innuendos constantly throughout filming” and that it was put down to “lad culture” and “banter – but if it’s just banter and it’s fun, then why am I crying in the toilet?”
Kearney said she was “disappointed” by the crew, but also in herself for letting it affect her.
She believes Wallace “created an environment” in which his sexually inappropriate comments were “normalised in way that you would expect to see in a ’90s lads mag”.
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While many people were aware of his alleged behaviour, it was “difficult” to speak out “about somebody who seems to be very popular… or about a show that is definitely very popular”, she said.
“That’s actually really difficult because you feel like you’re sticking your head above the parapet… people have got a lot to lose by speaking up. If you speak up against MasterChef, you’re going to be dropped by the brand. If you speak out against a popular male presenter, your reputation is the one that’s going to be dragged through the mud.”
Kearney’s claims come after another former contestant told Sky News the allegations that have emerged about Wallace are just the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to MasterChef – claiming he witnessed a “toxic environment” on set and that the problem was “larger” than just the presenter.
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Wallace apologises for ‘middle-aged women’ video
Former celebrity contestants including Kirsty Wark, Kirstie Allsopp and Emma Kennedy have also spoken out.
At the weekend, Wallace issued a defiant response, dismissing his accusers as “middle-class women of a certain age“. However, he has since apologised for his comments – which were described as “completely inappropriate and misogynistic” by a spokesperson for the prime minister.
In a video on Monday, Wallace 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.”
TV chef Tom Kerridge has also commented on the allegations, telling Sky News’s Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge that he has known Wallace to always be “full of jokes”.
He said: “He’s always full of charisma. And that front of camera charisma is always something that continues into off-screen as well.”
What have producers and the BBC said?
Wallace is being investigated by MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK.
“Banijay UK takes this matter incredibly seriously but while the external investigation is ongoing, we won’t be commenting on individual allegations,” a spokesperson for the company said.
“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.
“These include multiple ways of reporting issues, including anonymously. HR contact details are promoted, and contributors are assigned a point of contact on set available to discuss any issues or concerns.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have 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.
“Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them.
“It would be inappropriate for us to comment on anything that could form part of Banijay’s ongoing investigation or otherwise influence it.”
Sky News has contacted representatives for Wallace for comment.
Cases of winter flu are “rising rapidly” – with England’s health boss urging those eligible to get vaccinated.
Cases are highest among those aged five to 14, with 16.9% of tests positive for flu – up from 11.5% last week.
Sharing the data on X, England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said: “Influenza is now rising rapidly. Antiviral flu medicines can now be used in primary care.”
“If you are eligible please get vaccinated.”
The number of cases is in line with the 2022 to 2023 season, which peaked on 20 December, with 33% of tests positive for flu.
Last year, the peak was much smaller – with 16.7% of tests positive – and came more than a month later, on 27 January.
Data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) indicates while influenza rates are increasing, they remain at “low activity levels”.
Figures show the positive return rate for flu tests was 7.9% on 27 November, the most recent date for which data is available.
Flu is one of the illnesses circulating in the UK that have been dubbed the “quad-demic”.
COVID-19, flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and norovirus are all expected to peak at different times during the season.
Dr Alexander Allen, consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA, said: “Flu is the cause of the rise in winter illnesses that we’ve seen in the past week, with emergency department attendances also increasing.
“Anyone still eligible for the flu, COVID-19 or RSV vaccines should get booked in ahead of the busy winter period, when we expect flu, and other respiratory viruses to spread between people more easily.
“Vaccination offers the best defence against these diseases, and now is the time to get protected before Christmas.”
THERE ARE HINTS THIS SEASON COULD BE A BAD ONE
Flu season is upon us once again. The big question, not just for anyone looking forward to a healthy Christmas break but for a creaking NHS which can be crippled by a severe flu season, is: how bad will it be?
The Chief Medical Officer Sir Chris Whitty took to social media to remind all those who are eligible to come forward for a flu jab. This is a sensible reminder in any given year – but there were some hints in the data he shared that this season might be a hard one.
Compared to last year flu cases have been rising faster earlier. In the last couple of weeks, the number of flu tests coming back positive has increased sharply. The speed of the rise is in line with the increase seen in the 2022-23 flu season.
No flu season is the same – the severity can vary due to the strains of flu circulating, the level of vaccination in the community, and the weather – but the 2022-23 season was, according to recent analysis, the worst in the UK in five years.
There are some other concerning signs – flu cases appear to be highest among school aged children– despite the fact vaccine uptake in this group is the highest it’s been.
For the time being at least, infection and hospitalisation rates in the most vulnerable groups – the very young and the elderly — remain low, although they are increasing.
The advice, as it is every season is for anyone who is eligible for a flu jab – children from 2 to 11, pregnant women, everyone over 65, vulnerable groups and health and social care workers – should get a flu jab if they haven’t already had one.
Australia has worst flu season on record
Australia has experienced its worst flu season on record.
Figures from Australia’s National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System showed 358,256 laboratory-confirmed cases of flu.
This beat 2019’s previous high of 313,615 cases and comes amid a declining rate in flu vaccinations.
Pic: iStock
How can you protect yourself?
You can catch the flu all year round, but it is especially common in winter.
The NHS says symptoms include: a sudden high temperature, an aching body, feeling exhausted, a dry cough, a sore throat, headache and difficulty sleeping.
“Vaccines work against the quad-demic,” Dr David Lloyd, a GP, previously told Sky News.
In fact, by getting vaccinated you halve your risk of catching any of the four illnesses, he said.
The NHS provides vaccinations against three of the four illnesses; flu, COVID-19 and, as of September this year, RSV.
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The flu vaccine is offered on the NHS every year in autumn and early winter. You can get it for free if you are over 65, have a long-term health condition, are pregnant, live in a care home, are a carer for someone, or live with someone with a weakened immune system.
Front line health and social care workers can also get a flu vaccine through their employer.
Analysis of the latest NHS vaccination data showed 335 vaccinations were given per minute for COVID, flu and RSV on average from 30 September to 17 November.
This works out to around 3.4 million vaccinations a week.
Weather warnings have been issued across the UK for strong winds of up to 80mph and heavy rain over the next few days.
A Met Office yellow warning for gusty conditions – 65-75mph in places – begins from 4pm today in north and northwest Scotland until Thursday morning.
That is followed by a second warning for strong and gusty winds on Thursday and Friday with “disruption possible” on the roads and railways.
Get the five-day forecast where you are
It covers an area of the UK from Northern Ireland, extending across parts of Scotland, north Wales, northern England, the north Midlands and East Anglia.
Two wind warnings have been issued for Wednesday in northern Scotland and a larger area of the UK for Thursday. Pic: Met Office
Inland gusts could hit between 40-50mph but along exposed coasts through the North Channel and Irish Sea it might reach 60-70mph.
Forecasters also predict heavy showers at times, until the warning expires at 6am on Sunday.
The Met Office advises, those on the coast, to “stay safe during stormy weather by being aware of large waves”.
A third warning for strong winds and heavy rain also comes into force – for England and Wales – from Friday afternoon.
Forecasters are predicting these winds “may quite widely gust to around 40-50mph” but “perhaps locally nearer 80mph”.
This could cause difficult driving conditions, travel disruption and flooding in places, it has warned.
Around 15-25mm (0.6-1in) of rain may fall quite widely, but “exposed higher ground in the north and west – particularly parts of Wales – could see closer to 50-70mm (2-2.7in) and are at risk of flooding.
UK flooding risk returns
The Met Office said there is a slight chance of damage to buildings, homes and businesses being flooded, difficult driving conditions, road closures and power cuts.
Some snow on higher ground above about 200m (656ft) is also predicted.
Around the UK, shipping areas have been warned of intense winds.
Two areas – Faeroes and Bailey – are on alert for storm force 10 and the risk of violent storm force 11, which involves gusts of 69 knots (79mph).
That would be ranked as the second highest level, just below hurricane force.
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Concerns after Storms Bert and Conall
Several communities are still recovering from damaging flooding caused by Storm Bert between 22 – 25 November.
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Businesses ‘destroyed’ by Storm Bert
Winds of more than 80mph were recorded across the UK during the height of the storm.
The Met Office says the weekend of 23-24 November was “exceptionally wet” across South Wales and South West England, with more than 150mm (5.9in) falling in some upland areas.
Storm Bert caused the River Taff to burst its banks and flood homes in Pontypridd. File pic: PA
On 23 November, the average amount of rainfall across the UK was 24mm (1in) making it the wettest day since October 2020.
Among dozens of flood warnings that were issued, a rare severe flood warning – meaning a danger to life – was put in place for the River Nene near Northampton.
The Billing Aquadrome was badly flooded by the River Nene during Storm Bert. File pic: PA
Storm Bert was followed by Conall on 27 November which dropped up to 30mm (1.18in) of rain across southern coastal counties of the UK.
It did cause some flooding, but the Met Office says the disruption was more isolated than Bert.
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