Gregg Wallace hit by fresh blow as BBC ‘deletes him from iPlayer’ – as star makes mysterious social media change
AS the investigation into behaviour from Gregg Wallace continues, it appears he BBC has ‘deleted him’ from iPlayer and made significant changes to some of its programmes.
MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace is currently under investigation into his behaviour after reports of sexual comments, which has prompted a backlash against the star.
Whilst the presenter has stepped down from his role on MasterChef whilst under investigation, it appears the BBC have now taken pre-emptive steps and amended some of their programmes featuring the star.
Programmes including Inside The Factory and MasterChef previously heavily featured Wallace in pictures and descriptions, which now appear to have changed.
BBC viewers have spotted the change and were quick to take to social media to discuss it.
One person wrote: “What a difference a day makes. All the images of Mr Wallace have now been replaced.”
At the end of last month, Wallace stepped away from BBC show MasterChef after an investigation was launched into an initial 13 historical claims spanning across 17 years.
Wallace’s lawyers have strongly denied he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.
Among those to accuse the presenter of conducting himself inappropriately are former Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark, who claimed he told stories and jokes of a “sexualised nature” while filming Celebrity MasterChef.
These included allegations Wallace walked into the studio naked apart from a “sock over his penis”, mimed a sex act as a worker knelt to clean his trousers, and made a “rape joke”.
Wallace posted a video on Instagram describing his accusers as “middle-class women of a certain age” – before later apologising for the remark.
Wallace, under investigation by MasterChef producers Banijay UK, was scheduled to appear on the BBC several times this Christmas.
Yet the BBC has now axed the episodes featuring Wallace, after a former MasterChef staffer — who worked on the show from 2007 to 2010 — told The Sun she knew of at least six production members who raised concerns about Wallace’s conduct.
They said: “I heard from five female colleagues that they had issues with Gregg, including comments he made which weren’t appropriate for a workplace.
“There was a male staffer too who raised an issue about the language Gregg used when speaking to him.
“Nothing ever seemed to be done to properly address it.
“It was like the worst-kept secret in the TV industry.”
Wallace stepped down from the show last week after multiple complaints emerged.
Gregg Wallace - MasterChef scandal in Brief
GREGG Wallace has stepped down from his MasterChef hosting role after a probe into alleged inappropriate behaviour. But what's the situation?
Regular MasterChef host Gregg Wallace is currently the subject of a probe after an investigation was launched into his alleged misconduct over a number of years.
Gregg has been accused of making sexual remarks to 13 colleagues including Beeb anchor Kirsty Wark – accusations he denies.
The 60-year-old has now stepped away from the BBC show while historical misconduct allegations against him are investigated.
Yet the former greengrocer spoke out on social media to blast the “women of a certain age” who he claimed were behind the allegations.
The cooking show’s production company, Banijay UK, has said law firm Lewis Silkin would lead the investigation into Wallace’s alleged misconduct.