Moment Gregg Wallace refuses to eat Penny Lancaster’s meals on Celebrity MasterChef resurfaces as her husband Rod Stewart manufacturers host a ‘tubby bully’ after presenter stepped amid misconduct probe
The moment Gregg Wallace refused to eat Penny Lancaster‘s raw tartar sauce has re-emerged after her husband Rod Steward dubbed him a ‘tubby bully’.
It comes as Gregg Wallace 60, stepped away from MasterChef amid accusations of ‘sexualised’ behaviour during filming off the hit BBC show.
On one occasion he allegedly told a junior female colleague he wasn’t wearing any boxer shorts under his jeans.
The BBC has since revealed that 13 people, including Kirsty Wark, have complained about his conduct while working with him over a 17-year period across five shows, from 2005 to 2022.
Ms Walk alleges that Wallace told stories and jokes of a ‘sexualised nature’ in front of contestants and crew while filming Celebrity MasterChef in 2011 on two occasions, adding that his gags and comments were ‘really, really in the wrong place’.
In the resurfaced clip, Penny was left red faced when her fried calamari and homemade tartare sauce went awry, with the judges refusing to taste what was brandieda ‘raw egg/oil milkshake’.
When initially tasked with making her own tartar sauce the former Loose Woman star seemed to believe she was getting off to a promising start, beaming with confidence.
She quipped to the camera: ‘I’m doing surprisingly well compared to what I imagined how I’d be doing. I don’t want to slip up now.’
Penny Lancaster was initially beaming with confidence when she began making her tartar sauce – but that changed
The judges including Gregg Wallace were quick to refuse to eat the concoction which was raw
Fellow judge John Torode branded it a ‘raw egg/oil milkshake’ as Wallace informed her she had used whole eggs instead of egg yolks
But the 53-year-old seemingly spoke to soon as her sauce quickly went wrong as John delivered the devastating blow of declaring the sauce inedible.
When she served , Penny said: ‘That tartare sauce doesn’t look like the tartare sauce I’d normally have’, as Gregg informed her: ‘You used whole eggs instead of egg yolks’.
‘What I’ve got in here is a raw egg/oil milkshake. Unfortunately, I can’t eat that,’ co-judge John Torode added.
However all wasn’t lost for Penny as she received compliments on her calamari from the duo and later wowed the two with her chicken and coconut curry, green papaya chutney, grated apple, turnip and carrot salad and coconut rice.
Gregg showered her with praise at the time branding her ‘a stand out cook’, adding: ‘I found myself going from bowl to bowl to bowl and finding it difficult to stop, you have had what we call in the industry and very good day.’
However another clip showed a tense moment between Penny and Gregg as choas ensued in the kitchen
In the episode where the model was later eliminated, Gregg told the model: ‘Mate, we can’t be 10 minutes late,’ calling her delay ‘serious’.
The recently resurfaced clip comes as Sir Rod Stewart issued a furious rant at Gregg Wallace branding him a him a ‘tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully’ for ‘humiliating’ his wife when she appeared on the show in 2021.
Following Gregg’s departure, Rod wrote: ‘So Greg [sic] Wallace gets fired from Master Chef.
‘Good riddance Wallace… You humiliated my wife when she was on 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’
BBC presenter Gregg, 60, (pictured) stepped away from MasterChef after 13 people including Newsnight host Kirsty Wark accused him of ‘wrong’ and inappropriate ‘sexualised’ behaviour during filming
Following Gregg’s departure, Rod Stewart released a statement to Instagram branding him a ‘tubby bully’
Rod and wife Penny pictured together in 2019
BBC News said it had been told of other allegations, including the presenter ‘talking openly about his sex life among others
The BBC and Banijay declined to comment.
Following Penny’s eviction from the kitchen in 2021, she shared a cryptic post on Instagram hinting at ‘a person’s behaviour’.
She wrote on Instagram: ‘When you finally learn that a person’s behaviour has more to do with their own struggle than it ever did with you, you learn grace’.
On Thursday, Scottish broadcaster Aasmah Mir shared a picture of herself during the 2017 Celebrity MasterChef series – also with a cryptic message.
It read: ‘Always keep your receipts’. It is not yet known if she has also complained.
The BBC claims that Gregg walked away from MasterChef today after BBC News sent a letter to his agent on Tuesday, setting out allegations from 13 people and giving him a right of reply.
They say he was warned after a complaint was raised in 2018, but new historical claims emerged over the summer of 2024.
Gregg is ‘committed to fully cooperating throughout the process’, the show’s production company Banijay UK said.
Gregg will be on BBC One as usual on Thursday night because MasterChef: The Professionals, which is already recorded, will transmit as planned and into December. MasterChef’s Christmas specials will also still be broadcast.
The chef has since thanked people for their support following accusations he mimicked a sex act and wandered into the MasterChef studio ‘completely naked’ apart from a ‘sock covering his penis’.
Now in a video posted on Instagram tonight, he said: ‘I would like to thank all the people getting in touch, reach out and showing their support.
‘That’s good of you, thank you very much.’
In October Gregg vehemently denied that he had made inappropriate sexual comments towards women, declaring that he would never ‘flirt with’ or ‘hit on’ another woman and saying: ‘I didn’t say anything sexual’.
As chaos filled the kitchen during her stint on the show, Gregg told Penny: ‘Mate, we can’t be 10 minutes late,’ calling her delay ‘serious’
Banijay has not revealed the nature of the allegations.
In a statement to the PA news agency Banijay UK 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 underway, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully cooperating 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.’
Gregg has been accused of taking his top off in front of a female worker saying he wanted to ‘give her a fashion show’ and talking about his sex life to others
Following Penny’s eviction from the kitchen in 2021, she shared a cryptic post on Instagram hinting at ‘a person’s behaviour’
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.’
The BBC has said it takes any issues that are raised with it ‘seriously’.
A BBC spokesperson 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.’
