Gregg Wallace allegations are the ‘tip of the iceberg’ as former MasterChef contestant reveals ‘actually poisonous setting’ on hit present

A former MasterChef contestant has claimed the multiple allegations made against Gregg Wallace are just the ‘tip of the iceberg’.

The contestant, who did not want to be identified, alleges that he was so ‘horrified’ by the ‘toxic environment’ during filming for the show that he wanted to quit on his first day.

It is yet another person to level allegations against Wallace who this week stepped down from MasterChef after nearly 20 years of hosting the popular cooking show amid a probe into accusations of sexist and inappropriate behaviour.

There are 13 people, including Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark, who have formally complained about Wallace’s behaviour over a 17-year period across five shows, from 2005 to 2022.

The presenter faces various allegations of making ‘inappropriate sexual jokes’, asking for the phone numbers of female members of production staff, and undressing in front of and standing ‘too close’ to women working on his shows. 

Wallace has hit back at the allegations, posting several videos on his Instagram account to defend himself. The former greengrocer sparked a major backlash today by blaming ‘middle class women of a certain’ age for his downfall.

His lawyers say ‘it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature’. 

But in another setback for Wallace and MasterChef bosses, a former contestant today shared their experience on the show, telling Sky News: ‘I was horrified. I’d never seen anything like it, genuinely, I was really quite shocked at that really toxic environment.’

‘What I witnessed… as a contestant was that there was a systemic problem that was larger than just him, in my view.

‘Gregg… would occasionally crack jokes that in different ways felt inappropriate but he wasn’t the only one.’

The contestant, who alleged the ‘abuse’ on the show went further than Wallace, added: ‘I think it’s good that these things are coming out and I’m glad that people are speaking up, it’s brilliant. But I do think it’s the tip of the iceberg. 

‘I think if you were to really unravel and look at what was going on in that culture at large you’d see a lot more, you know, abuse.’ 

The contestant told Sky News they regret not leaving on the first day, but that they felt too embarrassed to walk away. 

They said the only way they felt they could leave was by cooking something awful and being thrown off – but they did not follow through with this because their pride got the better of them.

The contestant shared how offensive language was routinely used by camera crews and producers but that Wallace was the ‘least offensive’.

He also claimed that he heard inappropriate comments being made to another contestant.

The whistleblower claims that contestants were forced to sign nondisclosure agreements, forbidding them from speaking about ‘anything that goes on’.

They said that they had seen ‘too much behind the scenes’ to be able to watch the programme anymore. And they also remember wondering if the BBC were aware of what was going on or if that was just how the industry operated. 

A BBC source said: ‘While we are not going to comment on individuals or any internal processes, particularly when there is an ongoing process in place being run by Banijay who have the direct contractual relationship with Gregg Wallace, it would be wrong to report the BBC has done nothing if or when matters have been raised with us – not least because it is already being widely reported there were interventions in both 2017 and 2018 where action was taken.

‘We continue to urge caution about pre-judging any of this, particularly the involvement of BBC staff members and any inference they have not acted appropriately.’

It comes as Wallace today fanned the flames by claiming accusations about him making sexual comments towards staff and guests have come from ‘middle-class women of a certain age’.

In a post on Instagram on Sunday, the 60-year-old said: ‘I’ve 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, all walks of life.

‘Apparently now, I’m reading in the paper, there’s been 13 complaints in that time.

‘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 20 years, 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?’

In a third video, Wallace claimed ‘absolutely none’ of the people he had worked with on his shows had made a complaint about him.

The Sunday Times reported that BBC executive Kate Phillips raised concerns Wallace’s behaviour was ‘unacceptable and cannot continue’.

The intervention came after broadcaster and former Celebrity MasterChef contestant Aasmah Mir, said she complained about inappropriate comments during filming when she appeared on the show in 2017.

In an email forwarded to Ms Phillips in November 2017, Ms Mir said: ‘Should anything happen in the future, I don’t want to feel guilty when people say, ‘Why wasn’t anything said before?’, or for producers or editors to claim they didn’t know.’

Ms Mir, who presents the breakfast show on Times Radio, later wrote in an email that was copied to Ms Phillips: ‘This must not happen again to another woman.’

In a post on X, she described a moment on the show which led to her complaint. While waiting for cameras to reshoot a scene, she claims Wallace said to ‘tell a colleague at the BBC ‘that she was a sexy b****”.

Ms Mir claims that no one did anything despite it being said ‘in front of everyone’ which is why she complained. 

She added: ‘I left the competition first. But two female contestants including Ulrika Jonsson told me afterwards that he had told another contestant that the way she was handling fish “looked like a rapist doing foreplay.”‘

The newspaper claimed he received another warning the following year after a complaint was raised about his behaviour on the quiz show Impossible Celebrities.

The Sunday Telegraph reported producer Georgia Harding, who worked on MasterChef between 2014 and 2015 and later Eat Well For Less, claimed she raised concerns about ‘inappropriate’ behaviour from him while working on the show.

She alleged the presenter undressed in front of colleagues and ‘made inappropriate sexual jokes’ in front of the crew and people appearing on the shows, and said ‘nothing was done’ about concerns raised, claiming there was ‘an acceptance’ of his behaviour and ‘nothing was done’.

Harding also said he stood ‘too close’ to contestants on set and ‘spoke about sex a lot and would get changed on set even though he had a changing room’.

Meanwhile TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp also claimed Wallace made an inappropriate sexual joke to her.

She wrote on X: ‘Within 1hr of meeting Gregg Wallace he told me of a sex act that he & his partner at the time enjoyed ‘every morning’, she’d just left the room, we were filming a pilot. Did he get off on how embarrassed I was? It was totally unprofessional.’

She added: ‘Why say nothing? Because you feel, in no particular order, embarrassed, a prude, shocked, waiting for a male colleague to call him out, not wanting to ‘rock the boat’, thinking it’s better to plough on with the day, assuming you misheard/misunderstood or just don’t get the joke.’ 

An anonymous woman who appeared on Eat Well For Less also claimed that Wallace stood ‘too close’ to her, made ‘inappropriate’ sexual comments, and said Wallace asked why guests were not laughing at his jokes, and told them they should because he was the ‘talent’.

Wallace has been mocked on social media for blaming ‘middle class women of a certain age’.

Some said Greg Wallace has ‘done himself no favours’ and ‘made things worse’ for himself by taking aim at the 13 women who have made a complaint, while others accused him of a ‘blatantly misogynistic response’ to complaints about his allegedly sexist behaviour.

Many people took to ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter, to make fun of his post as they joked about his lawyers and PR firm’s reaction to the video.

One post read: ‘Whichever PR firm advised Gregg Wallace to take on ‘middle-class women of a certain age’ clearly hate him as well.’

Another featured a meme of Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation hammering his mobile phone with the caption: ‘Gregg Wallace’s lawyers driving to his house right now to remove his phone and laptop.’

Radio presenter Julie Hartley-Brewer wrote: ‘Spare a thought for Gregg Wallace’s PR agent waking up this morning,’ with a meme of Chandler from Friends shouting ‘What did you just do?’

Comedian David Baddiel joked: ‘It’s not often that the internet gets behind middle-class, middle-aged women these days, but thanks to Gregg Wallace for making it happen.’

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.

‘It would be inappropriate for us to comment on anything that could form part of Banijay’s ongoing investigation or otherwise influence it.’

Banijay UK, the show’s production company, said the complaints were made to the BBC this week by ‘individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with Gregg Wallace on one of our shows’.

The company said Wallace was ‘committed to fully co-operating throughout the process’.

‘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,’ the company said.

‘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.’

MailOnline has contacted Wallace’s representatives for comment.