Rod Stewart has slammed Gregg Wallace for allegedly humiliating his wife, Penny Lancaster, while filming Celebrity MasterChef in 2021.
The allegation comes after it was announced on Thursday that Wallace had stepped away from hosting the hit BBC cooking show while historical misconduct complaints are externally reviewed by the show’s production company, Banijay UK.
BBC News reported the 60-year-old faces allegations from 13 people across a range of shows over a 17-year period, including former Newsnight host Kirsty Wark.
Wark told the BBC that on two occasions 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”.
BBC News said it had been told of other allegations, including the presenter “talking openly about his sex life, taking his top off in front of a female worker saying he wanted to ‘give her a fashion show’, and telling a junior female colleague he was not wearing any boxer shorts under his jeans”.
The TV star’s lawyers say “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”, BBC News reported.
Following reports of complaints made against Wallace, Sir Rod shared a post on Instagram in which he called the TV presenter an “ill-mannered bully”.
The singer wrote: “So Gregg Wallace gets fired from MasterChef. Good riddance Wallace.
“You humiliated my wife when she was on the celebrity version of 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.”
In an Instagram post on Thursday evening, Wallace thanked his followers, writing: “I would like to thank all the people getting in touch, reaching out and showing their support.
“It’s good of you, thank you very much.”
A statement from Banijay UK on Thursday said: “This week the BBC received complaints from individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with presenter Gregg Wallace on one of our shows.
“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.
“While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process.
“Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set.
“Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.”
The statement added: “If anyone would like to talk to us or raise any issues or concerns, then they can contact [email protected] in confidence.”
A BBC spokesman 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.”
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