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Chef Tom Kerridge has commented on the allegations made against former MasterChef host Gregg Wallace, saying they are “horrific if true”.
In November, Wallace, 60, stepped back from his role co-presenting the BBC One show after nearly 20 years, as various allegations emerged that he had made sexual comments and behaved inappropriately to staff and guests. Wallace has vehemently denied all accusations.
His knee-jerk claim that accusations of inappropriate behaviour against him came from “a handful of middle-class women of a certain age” sparked a furious backlash at the end of last year, and he left the BBC in turmoil. Wallace later apologised for “any offence that I caused”.
Kerridge, 51, who is a judge on the BBC show Great British Menu, told The Times in a new interview: “If the accusations about Gregg Wallace are all found to be true, then it’s horrific.”
He added: “I work in a world where we try to make people feel comfortable, not uncomfortable. I don’t really know Gregg in terms of hanging out with him.”
Kerridge, who is now sober, also opened up about his past binge-drinking habits, stating: “On a quiet night, I would drink eight pints of lager, two massive negronis and maybe a quarter of a bottle of gin. Sometimes, it would be considerably more. I was an Olympic-class drinker. I was very good at it. It would be every day. But it was never at work or during work hours.
“Not a single bit of me regrets being that person because I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it and the chaos that surrounded it. I had some amazing times while being that person. But now, I’m not that person.”
Wallace faces a string of allegations, including that he made “inappropriate sexual jokes”, asked for the phone numbers of female members of production staff, and undressed in front of and stood “too close” to women working on his shows.
One woman has accused Wallace of touching her bottom after an event, while another claimed he pressed his crotch against her during filming of one of his shows. Read more about the accusations here.
MasterChef’s production company, Banijay UK, has enlisted a “rigorous” law firm to conduct an external review into Wallace’s alleged misconduct.
There have been calls for the BBC to conduct its own investigation, after it emerged that complaints about Wallace’s behaviour were brought to the corporation’s attention as far back as 2017.
