The BBC is under pressure on Monday after accusations of sexual harassment targeting one of the presenters of its very popular show “MasterChef”.
Gregg Wallace, 60, has been implicated by a dozen people who accuse him of having made “inappropriate” remarks and jokes with sexual connotations for more than 17 years.
The person brushed aside these accusations and declared on Sunday that the accusers were “a handful of middle-class women of a certain age”. Faced with the outcry, he apologized for “any fault” he may have caused.
The production company behind the show announced it was investigating the allegations. She also announced that Gregg Wallace would no longer present the show during the investigation, but that the taped season of “MasterChef: The Professionals” would continue to air.
Culture Minister Lisa Nandy held discussions late last week with BBC officials about the affair, a Downing Street spokesperson said on Monday, describing the comments as “inappropriate and misogynistic”. comments made over the weekend by Gregg Wallace.
The allegations against the presenter were revealed by a BBC News investigation. This investigation also showed that the person concerned had received a warning from the public group as early as 2018. At that time, a complaint was filed against him.
These accusations are a new blow for the audiovisual giant, already implicated for its management of several cases notably involving sexual assault. First, the Jimmy Savile affair, which broke out in 2012 a year after the death of this star presenter, author of rape and numerous sexual assaults against minors for decades. Or the case of Huw Edwards, former star presenter, convicted in mid-September for possession of child pornography images. At the start of the year, the very popular show “Strictly Come Dancing” also made headlines after accusations of moral harassment.
On Monday, Labor MP Rupa Huq, a member of parliament's cultural affairs, media and sport committee, said the channel should consider stopping broadcasts of the current season and upcoming Christmas episodes. According to her, the BBC “should send a strong signal (about) this type of behavior”.
The show “MasterChef” has been broadcast on the BBC since 1990 and has been followed around the world.
