Horrified taxi driver ‘wanted to chuck Gregg Wallace out’ after MasterChef star ‘asked him about sex life with his wife’
A DISGUSTED taxi driver says he wanted to turf Gregg Wallace out onto the street after he grilled him about his sex life.
The London cabbie has revealed how he was inappropriately questioned about his bedroom antics with his wife after picking up the MasterChef star.
But although he was taken aback, the now-retired driver called John “put Gregg in his place” by telling him “it was not the way to behave”.
The shock allegation comes after an investigation was launched into Gregg’s alleged misconduct over a number of years.
TV star Gregg has been accused of making sexual remarks to 13 colleagues, including BBC anchor Kirsty Wark. He denies the accusations.
Cab driver John called in to LBC radio today to tell broadcaster Nick Ferrari about his encounter with Gregg ‘five to 10 years ago’.
He said: “I didn’t watch MasterChef that much but obviously had seen him on TV and knew who he was.
“He got in the taxi and we were going on the journey and, within about a minute or so, he asked, ‘Driver, can I ask you a question?’
“I said, ‘Yeah’ and he said, ‘Are you married?’ I said, ‘Yes’, as I was and am still married. And he said, ‘Can I ask you what your sex life between you and your wife is like?'”
Gasping, radio host Nick replied: “Oh my God.”
John continued: “I said to him, ‘This is not the way to behave’ and I basically put him in his place.
“I felt like chucking him out the taxi, but I didn’t.
“I told certain people at the time, like my wife and other members of my family.
“I got a text from my sister the other day saying, ‘That story about Gregg Wallace you told me a few years back, you were telling the truth’.”
Nick asked John how Gregg reacted when he shot him down.
“He backed down a bit and knew I was a bit angry because it’s not the thing to say,” John said. “It’s not the thing anyone would really say, especially if you’ve just met the person.
“Whether he said it to other taxi drivers, I don’t know.”
Nick, who appears as a guest on This Morning several times a week, told John he thought it was “really weird”.
STEPPING DOWN
Gregg stepped away from BBC show MasterChef last week while historical misconduct allegations against him are investigated.
Former Newsnight host Kirsty Wark has claimed on two occasions Gregg told stories and jokes of a “sexualised nature” in front of contestants and crew while filming MasterChef’s celeb spin-off 13 years ago.
The broadcaster said that his jokes and comments were “really, really in the wrong place”.
A slew of other people have since spoken out, including former Celebrity MasterChef contestant Aggie McKenzie and a recruitment manager who appeared on Inside The Factory with Gregg in 2019.
The Sun’s Ulrika Jonsson has called him “ignorant and arrogant”, while Location, Location, Location star Kirstie Allsopp claims Gregg left her mortified by telling her about a sex act he “enjoyed every morning with his partner”.
Times Radio host Aasmah Mir says she complained to BBC executives about inappropriate comments allegedly made by Wallace when she appeared on Celebrity MasterChef in 2017.
Celebrity MasterChef winner Emma Kennedy, meanwhile, claims she reported Gregg to the BBC 12 years ago.
Production company Banijay UK confirmed last week that Gregg will be “stepping away” from MasterChef.
It 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.
“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.”
HITTING BACK
Gregg – married to Anne-Marie Sterpini — also hit back, claiming: “The allegations were investigated six years ago and my comments were found to be not sexual. I repeat, not sexual. Thank you everybody for your time.”
Last year, he stepped down from another BBC show, Inside The Factory, amid allegations he was “rude to staff and continued to talk in a derogatory manner, especially to women.”
This weekend, Gregg spoke out on social media – and blasted the “middle class women of a certain age” making complaints about him.
The former greengrocer hit back against the accusations in another bizarre Instagram post.
He told his followers: “I have been doing Masterchef for 20 years – amateur, celebrity and professional MasterChef and I think in that time I have worked with over 4,000 contestants of all different ages, all different backgrounds and all walks of life.
“And apparently now I am reading in the paper there’s been 13 complaints in that time.
“In the newspaper I can see the complaints coming from a handful of middle-class women of a certain age just from Celebrity Masterchef.
“This isn’t right.
“In over 20 years of television, can you imagine how many women, female contestants, on MasterChef have made sexual remarks or sexual innuendo, can you imagine?”
The cooking show’s production company, Banijay UK, yesterday said law firm Lewis Silkin would lead the investigation into Wallace’s alleged misconduct.