Disgraced television presenter Gregg Wallace has issued a public apology for comments he made blaming ‘middle-aged’ women for the complaints that ultimately led to his dismissal from the BBC’s MasterChef. The 61-year-old, sensationally axed last summer, described his earlier remarks as ‘stupid, defensive, and arrogant’ in a new personal blog post.
A Partial Apology and a Defence of Workplace Culture
In a lengthy newsletter on Substack, Wallace reflected on the ‘highly-publicised moment’ his ‘life changed forever’ following his suspension in late 2024. He directly addressed his infamous claim that complaints originated from ‘middle-class women of a certain age’.
‘It was a stupid, defensive, and arrogant thing to say. I felt like I was being backed into a corner, and I lashed out. There’s no excuse for it. It was hurtful and wrong. It’s not what I truly believe, and I’m sorry for what I said,’ Wallace wrote.
However, the former greengrocer also painted a picture of himself as a product of a specific, ‘boisterous’ studio environment. He compared the innuendo-laden banter on the MasterChef set to that seen on The Great British Bake Off or The 1% Club, suggesting he was simply matching a ‘culture that was engineered from the top down’.
‘I wasn’t a lone wolf making crude comments in a silent office; I was part of an ensemble that was noisy, energetic, and yes, sometimes crude,’ he stated, adding that he was ‘encouraged’ and never told his behaviour was problematic by production members.
The Substantiated Allegations and a Timeline of Complaints
Wallace’s dismissal in July 2025 followed an external investigation by law firm Lewis Silkin, commissioned by production company Banijay. The published report was damning.
It found that 45 out of 83 allegations made against Wallace during his time on the show were substantiated. These included numerous instances of inappropriate sexual language and humour, with one allegation of ‘unwelcome physical contact’ also being upheld.
The report detailed a history of complaints spanning nearly two decades:
- 2005-2011: 27 substantiated claims, mostly sexually explicit comments.
- 2012-2018: 17 upheld allegations. Wallace received a formal warning from the BBC in 2017.
- 2019-2024: One substantiated complaint about an inappropriate comment.
Specific allegations reported by the BBC included Wallace talking openly about his sex life, taking his top off in front of a female worker, and telling a junior colleague he was not wearing any boxer shorts.
Fallout, Legal Action, and Moving On
The fallout from the scandal was significant. The charity Ambitious About Autism dropped Wallace as an ambassador, and Downing Street labelled his ‘middle-class women’ comment as ‘inappropriate and misogynistic’. His co-presenter, John Torode, distanced himself, affirming his continued commitment to MasterChef.
In his blog, Wallace concluded with a more contrite tone: ‘I want to be very clear. I am sorry for the upset I caused. It was never, ever my intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable… I accept responsibility for the impact of my actions.’
Nevertheless, he questioned ‘whether the standards by which I was judged were knowable in advance.’
Since his sacking, Wallace has reinvented himself as a personal trainer and life coach on TikTok. He is also suing the BBC and BBC Studios for up to £10,000 in damages, claiming a failure to provide his personal data, a claim the BBC disputes.
The BBC has maintained that his return to MasterChef is ‘untenable’, closing the chapter on his two-decade tenure on the iconic cooking show.
