Gregg Wallace, a host on the U.K. version of BBC’s “MasterChef,” is stepping down from his role amid an investigation launched this week into “historical allegations of misconduct.”
According to production company Banijay UK, 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 U.K., we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate,” the company said in a statement. “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.”
The investigation comes after BBC News reported that the 60-year-old was accused by 13 different people of making inappropriate sexual comments to co-workers over a period of 17 years.
His accusers include Kirsty Wark, who was a Celebrity MasterChef contest in 2011 and said he told “sexualized” jokes while filming on two separate occasions. Other allegations against Wallace reported by the outlet include talking openly about his sex life, taking his top off in front of a female co-worker saying he wanted to “give her a fashion show” and telling a junior female colleague he wasn’t wearing any boxer shorts under his jeans.
Additionally, BBC News said a former MasterChef worker told them that Wallacce showed her topless pictures of himself and asked for messages, while a former employees on Big Weekends said Wallace was fascinated by the fact she dated women and asked for the logistics of how it worked.
According to BBC, Wallace’s lawyers have said the accusations of against him are entirely false. A spokesperson for Wallace did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment.
In addition to “MasterChef,”” Celebrity MasterChef” and “Professional MasterChef,” Wallace’s TV credits include being the original presenter of “Saturday Kitchen” in 2002, “Eat Well for Less,” “Inside the Factory,” “Turn Back Time,” “Harvest Supermarket Secrets,” and “Who Do You Think You Are?”
The latest allegations against a the host of a BBC show come after former BBC presenter Huw Edwards plead guilty to three counts of obtaining, keeping and sharing indecent images of children in July.
“We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them,” a BBC spokesperson said in a statement. “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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