Sir Rod Stewart has some strong words for Gregg Wallace, three years on from when his wife Penny Lancaster was ‘humiliated’ on Celebrity MasterChef
Sir Rod Stewart has appeared to hint that some scenes from his wife Penny Lancaster’s stint on MasterChef were cut from the show after ‘bullying’ from host Gregg Wallace.
Model Penny took part in the celebrity version of the BBC cooking show in 2021, but only managed to make it to the quarter finals. Though she had impressed Wallace and fellow host John Torode with some of her dishes, her butternut squash ravioli went 10 minutes over time.
Viewers saw Wallace tell Penny: ‘Mate, we can’t be 10 minutes late,” as he called her delay in delivering the dish “serious”. But Penny was having none of it as she hit back: “Well, we’re going to have to be, otherwise I won’t have a dish.” Afterwards she admitted: “Everything piled on top of me. I just hope the wait was worth it.”
But it wasn’t enough to secure Penny a place in the next round and a tearful Penny confirmed her time on the show was done, saying: “It would’ve been incredible to get through to the semi-finals, but it wasn’t meant to be.” The show, which also featured Megan McKenna and Joe Swash, was later won by paralympian Kadeena Cox.
Three years on – as allegations of inappropriate behaviour are made against 60-year-old Wallace, which he denies – Sir Rod took to social media to call the MasterChef presenter out for ‘humiliating’ his wife when she appeared on the show. And he didn’t mince his words when it came to saying what he really thought of him.
In a scathing Instagram post shared with his one million followers the Maggie May singer, who turns 80 in January and has just been announced as the headline act in the Legends slot at Glastonbury Festival next year, referred to Wallace as a “tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully.”
His full statement said: “So Greg Wallace gets fired from Masterchef. 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.”
It comes as Wallace was accused of making inappropriate sexual comments and jokes over 17-years working on various TV shows. The BBC has launched an investigation following complaints from 13 people, including Newsnight host Kirsty Wark.
Kirsty, who appeared on Celebrity MasterChef in 2011, said Wallace told ‘sexualised’ jokes during filming in front of contestants and crew members, which she claimed made people feel ‘uncomfortable’ and ’embarrassed.’ She added: “I was actually more angry than anything else, because I thought it was so inappropriate. And in a sense what I thought was it was about power, that he felt he could.”
BBC News said it had been told of other allegations, including the presenter “talking openly about his sex life, taking his top off in front of a female worker saying he wanted to ‘give her a fashion show’, and telling a junior female colleague he was not wearing any boxer shorts under his jeans”.
MasterChef’s production company, Banijay UK, has also launched an investigation, which Wallace is “committed to fully cooperating” with. Wallace has denied the claims against him and his lawyers say it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.
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