U.K. MasterChef Host Gregg Wallace to Step Down amid Misconduct Allegations

Gregg Wallace, the host of the U.K.’s version of MasterChef, is stepping away from the program while its production company and broadcaster investigate allegations of sexual misconduct.

On Thursday, Nov. 28, multiple outlets reported that MasterChef‘s production company Banijay UK stated that Wallace, 60, was stepping away as an investigation is completed. BBC News reported that it sent a letter to Wallace’s representatives on Nov. 26 outlining allegations of inappropriate sexual comments made by 13 individuals who worked with him across a range of shows he presented and hosted over the course of 17 years.

According to BBC News and other outlets, Wallace’s lawyers stated that “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.” Multiple outlets also reported that Banijay UK has launched an investigation and said in a statement that Wallace, who has co-hosted MasterChef since 2005, is “committed to fully co-operating throughout the process” of the investigation. 

Scottish television presenter and journalist Kirsty Wark told BBC News as part of its investigation that Wallace told “sexualized” jokes during filming when she was a Celebrity MasterChef contestant back in 2011. 

“There were two occasions in particular where he used sexualized language in front of a number of people, and it wasn’t as if anyone engaged with this,” she said in a video shared as part of BBC News’ article. “It was completely one-way traffic, but I think people were uncomfortable, and [it was] something I didn’t really expect to happen.” 

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“Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate,” Banijay UK said in a statement obtained by several outlets, including Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter.

BBC News — which noted in its article that it remains editorially independent from the U.K.’s larger public broadcasting corporation — additionally reported that the BBC once warned Wallace after two women complained about his behavior in 2018 on the series Impossible Celebrities. The women alleged that Wallace “talked openly about his sex life to staff on the show” and made them feel uncomfortable. As the outlet reported, Wallace apologized at that time and the women who complained were offered counseling.

The outlet reported that it began investigating Wallace last summer after learning of allegations that span across five series Wallace worked on between 2005 and 2022.

“We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them,” a spokesperson for BBC, the network that airs MasterChef, told PEOPLE in a statement. “We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.”