MasterChef judge Gregg Wallace – whose lawyers have denied that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature – has worked with John Torode for almost 20 years
John Torode is reportedly concerned that the allegations against his MasterChef co-star Gregg Wallace could reflect badly on him – despite contestants observing that they “didn’t communicate” when the cameras stopped rolling.
Gregg, 60, has been accused of making inappropriate sexual comments, with him having stepped away from his role on the BBC show whilst production company Banijay UK review the apparent historical misconduct complaints. Gregg is said to be “committed to fully cooperating throughout the process”. His lawyers say that ‘it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature,’ as BBC News reported.
There’s speculation that his co-star John, who has yet to address the situation, may be be concerned about the potential impact on himself. Although long-time colleagues, having fronted MasterChef together since 2005, John previously stated back in 2017 that they have “never been friends”.
This week, a source told the Daily Mail that John may fear that the furore about Gregg may reflect badly on him. One contestant has this week described John as “absolutely lovely”.
Former Celebrity MasterChef contestant Aggie Mackenzie, 69 – who was on the show in 2011 – told Times Radio on Friday that John and Gregg did not appear to have a “connection” off-screen. She said they are “very different people”.
Aggie said: “They behave very differently. And I observed that when the cameras were off, they would go to separate ends of the room.” She added on the radio show: “They didn’t really communicate or have a connection off screen.”
The How Clean Is Your House? star also shared her thoughts on Gregg during the interview. She said he he was “very old school” in his humour and claimed that he would tell “stupid, unfunny jokes” that people “kind of had to tolerate”.
It was reported on Thursday that Gregg would be stepping away MasterChef while allegations from 13 people that he made inappropriate sexual comments are investigated. The allegations are said to have been made by people working across a range of shows over a 17-year period.
In a statement, the production company behind MasterChef, 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.”
The statement continued: “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.”
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.”
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