Lorraine Kelly lets rip at Gregg Wallace: ‘Don’t play that card’

Ruth Lawes and Asyia Iftikhar

Published November 29, 2024 12:38pm Updated December 3, 2024 2:59pm

Lorraine Kelly has hit out at Gregg Wallace after his statement (Picture: ITV/Instagram)

Multiple celebrities have come forward with their allegations about Gregg Wallace after MasterChef’s producer launched an investigation.

Wallace, 60, has stepped down from the long-running BBC show while Banijay UK probes historical complaints of misconduct.

He has been hit with a string of allegations, including mimicking a sex act, walking into the MasterChef studio ‘completely naked except for a sock pulled over his penis’, taking his top off in front of a female co-worker and making lesbian and racist jokes.

Wallace’s lawyers told BBC News it is ‘entirely false’ he engages in a ‘behaviour of a sexually harassing nature’.

This weekend, as more allegations emerged, Wallace shared a clip on Instagram in which he addressed the scandal for the first time and thanked ‘all the people getting in touch, reaching out and showing their support.’

He later hit out at the complaints made by ‘a handful of middle-class women of a certain age’ and insisted the treatment of him ‘isn’t right’.

Wallace later apologised for his comments after immense backlash, including from Sir Keir Starmer, saying: ‘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 when I posted it.

Stay updated with our latest Gregg Wallace stories here:

‘It’s obvious to me I need to take some time out now while this investigation is underway.

‘I hope you understand and I do hope that you will accept this apology.’

Several high-profile figures have been among those accusing Wallace of misconduct. This is what they had to say.

Lorraine Kelly

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Following Wallace’s initial statement on Instagram, hitting out at ‘middle-class women of a certain age’, Lorraine Kelly admitted she was ‘astounded’ and questioned why he didn’t keep a ‘dignified silence’.

Speaking on her ITV programme, she said: ‘Sometimes, just don’t… just have a dignified silence and collect yourself.

‘I’m quite astounded that he made that statement.’

She went on: ‘Is nobody advising him? Is nobody saying, “shut up,” just be quiet right now.’

Referring to his statement about ‘middle-class women’, she added: ‘It’s not a class thing at all, don’t play that card, just don’t play that card.

‘If you make people feel uncomfortable, it’s not 1972, I do understand that a lot of people might say, “It wasn’t that bad really,” well it was, and it was a lot. It wasn’t just one person.

‘You get personality clashes, of course you do, but there’s a lot of people coming out to say, “Actually I felt really uncomfortable but I didn’t want to say anything”.’

Melanie Sykes

Former TV presenter Melanie Sykes revealed in her autobiography last year that her experience with Wallace on Celebrity MasterChef in 2021 sparked the end of her TV career.

Writing about what unfolded in the book, Melanie said he’d greeted her on set by asking if models eat, which she found ‘unprofessional’ and driven by ‘ignorance and disrespect with an extra helping of arrogance’.

She also claimed he’d ‘barked orders’ in a manner that made her want to quit the series,

Melanie went on to make an informal complaint about Wallace’s behaviour on the series, adding the ‘unprofessional’ conduct on set was ‘jaw-dropping’.

Following a conversation with Wallace at the conclusion of filming, Melanie said he ‘finally helped me decide to end my television career once and for all’.

Kirstie Allsopp

Kirstie Allsopp responded to Wallace’s comments about middle-class women, writing on X: ‘Within 1hr of meeting Gregg Walllace he told me of a sex act that he & his partner at the time enjoyed “every morning”, she’d just left the room, we were filming a pilot. Did he get off on how embarrassed I was? It was totally unprofessional, I’m a #MiddleClassWomanOfaCertainAge’.

In a follow-up post, the TV presenter said she didn’t speak out at the time because she felt ’embarrassed, a prude, shocked, waiting for a male colleague to call him out, not wanting to “rock the boat”, thinking it’s better to plough on with the day, assuming you misheard/misunderstood or just don’t get the joke.’

She added that the women who ‘were brave enough to complain’ about Wallace ‘should be supported’.

Allsopp clarified to her followers that Wallace made the remarks in the green room, not on camera.

She urged those who believe the reaction to Wallace’s scandal is ‘unfair’, then they should ‘ask if they think it’s OK for you/their partner to make a comment about your bedroom activities to a woman you/they have just met at work.’

She alleges Wallace made inappropriate comments shortly after they met (Picture: X)

Also speaking on BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend, she said: ‘I’d been chatting to her; she left the room, and he (Wallace) made a reference to something they did in bed.

‘You know that feeling when you’re so embarrassed that you think you might cry? You just feel kind of internally scarlet. I had that feeling, and I always remembered it.’

The Location, Location, Location presenter added of Wallace’s response: ‘That is unacceptable. Because he is essentially saying this is a class issue and middle-class women don’t understand the type of things he says because he’s working-class. Well, I’m sorry, but he’s doing an incredible disservice to men.

‘What’s he saying? That working-class men do this kind of thing, embarrass their wives and girlfriends and sisters and mothers? That’s unacceptable, of course, that’s not the case.

‘I absolutely understand about banter. I’m a mother of sons – two stepsons, two sons. But there’s a huge difference between robust chat and the kind of comment Gregg Wallace made to me.’

She also said she regretted not confronting the former greengrocer ‘then and there’.

Kaye Adams

Kaye Adams chimed in with her ‘tuppence worth’ as a ‘woman of a certain age’.

In an Instagram video, the Loose Woman said that when she appeared on MasterChef, she ‘wasn’t there long enough to be able to gauge anyone’s behaviour’, joking that her cooking was ‘bloody awful’.

However, she called Wallace out for ‘missing the point’ in his reaction to the accusations, insisting ‘this is about power’.

‘Whether your power comes from your gender or your colour or your age or your physicality or your status, it’s about making sure you don’t use your power to make other people feel uncomfortable.

‘Of course, women can abuse their power, but the reality is that very few women ever get that level of power.’

Sean Lock

Comments made by late comedian Sean Lock have resurfaced, who suggested he wasn’t Wallace’s biggest fan.

Lock, who died in 2021 at the age of 58, hinted that he wasn’t Wallace’s biggest fan while appearing on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.

A clip of the star has resurfaced in recent days, with Lock tasked with deciding which celebrities deserve ‘national treasure’ status, snubbing the likes of Ed Sheeran and Ant McPartlin.

Selecting a photo of Wallace visiting a food factory, Lock joked that he ‘came close’ as ‘he wears a hair net even though he’s bald’.

The comedian added: ‘No, I like him because he’s got no sense of irony or humour.’

On why he couldn’t declare Wallace a national treasure, he then stated brutally: ‘But I’ve met him.’

‘No, Gregg. He tried to put his spoon in my pudding,’ he added.

Aasmah Mir

Aasmah Mir took to X after the string of allegations against Wallace came to light, recalling her stint on Celebrity MasterChef in 2017.

She wrote that, after putting her first dish down in front of the judges, as the cameras paused to reset, Wallace ‘told [her] to tell a colleague at the BBC “that she was a sexy b***h”.’

‘No-one said anything. And yes, I did complain,’ she said.

The Times Radio broadcaster added: ‘I left the competition first. But two female contestants including Ulrika Jonsson told me afterwards that he had told another contestant that the way she was handling fish “looked like a rapist doing foreplay.”

‘There was a complaint and he was told to apologise which he did. In an email to a BBC boss I was told that Wallace’s behaviour was “unacceptable” and “couldn’t continue”. Judge for yourself if it has.’

Sir Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster — Sir Rod Stewart blasted Wallace as an ‘ill-mannered bully’ after his wife Penny competed on MasterChef (Picture: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

Sir Rod Stewart was one of the first stars to address Wallace’s scandal, as he took to Instagram to accuse him of ‘humiliating’ his wife Penny Lancaster on Celebrity MasterChef in 2021.

The Maggie May singer wrote: ‘So Greg Wallace gets fired from MasterChef.

‘Good riddance Wallace… You humiliated my wife when she was on the show, but you had that bit cut out didn’t you?

‘You’re a tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully. Karma got ya. Sir Rod Stewart.’

Charlotte Crosby

Charlotte Crosby was a contestant on the most recent series of Celebrity MasterChef, which was won by Strictly’s Vito Coppola.

The Geordie Shore star, 34, described Wallace as ‘extremely unpleasant’ while she filmed the BBC show.

Crosby commented on Sir Rod’s Instagram post: ‘He was extremely unpleasant to me when I was on MasterChef.’

Ulrika Jonsson

Ulrika Jonsson told The Telegraph that when she competed on Celebrity MasterChef in 2017, Wallace allegedly had to apologise after making a ‘rape joke’, which caused another female contestant to become ‘really distressed.’

The Swedish-born TV personality, 57, did not hear the joke but said that when another contestant walked off the set, she was told what had occurred.

Jonsson also posted a photo of her MasterChef apron to her Instagram Story, writing: ‘Hopefully it will all come out in the wash.’

She followed up with a statement, saying: ‘Plenty of crew on set who would not dare to speak up for fear of losing their jobs.

Kirsty Wark

Former Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark was among the 13 people who worked with Wallace across a variety of shows over a 17-year period who complained about his behaviour.

Wark, 69, claimed Wallace relayed stories and jokes of a ‘sexualised nature’ in front of contestants and crew and that she felt they were ‘really, really in the wrong place’ when she was on Celebrity MasterChef in 2011.

Aggie MacKenzie, who appeared on the same series as Wark, said she ‘agreed’ with everything she said.

On GMB, the TV star said: ‘Those joke sweren’t directed at me but they were always smutty and endless. It was as if Gregg was some kind of dinosaur and couldn’t read the room. I can’t listen to his voice now, it triggers something in me.’

Banijay declined to comment when contacted by Metro.

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.’

Katy Brand

Katy Brand broke her silence on a viral clip from her time on Masterchef (Picture: BBC/Shine TV)

Former Celebrity Masterchef star Katy Brand has made a statement about Wallace’s investigation after clip from her 2013 appearance went viral.

In the clip Wallace tasted her dish before commenting he would ‘munch the living daylights out of her little tart’, prompting a shocked ‘excuse me?’ Brand.

In a new Instagram statement, Brand wrote: ‘I took it as an innuendo-laden remark at the time, and I still see it that way now.”

She continued: ‘My reaction on camera was one of shock and disbelief at such a crass and idiotic joke, and so I laughed and said “excuse me?

‘To which he reacted with a deadpan express and remark about my laughter.’

She described the incident as ‘awkward’ before clarifying she was not one of those who made an official complaint.

‘I applaud those who have, especially those who work off-camera and who often find they do not have the opportunity or support to react in the moment. I hope they find it now,’ she concluded.

Clemmie Moodie

Clemmie Moodie, assistant editor at The Sun, participated in the 2016 journalist’s edition of the show.

Following Sir Rod’s comments, she described Wallace as ‘aggressive, mean and belittling’ before becoming ‘charm personified’ on camera.

She added: ‘His behaviour was weird enough to see people from the show check in with me after to make sure I was ok.’

She claimed that Wallace appeared to have an immediate ‘bizarre and instantaneous dislike’ for her and he ‘seemingly tried to intimidate and scare’ her.

Moodie concluded she felt ‘gaslit’.

Metro has contacted Gregg Wallace’s reps for comment.

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