Gregg Wallace was spotted on Monday morning for the first time after Penny Lancaster alleged he made critical comments about women’s bodies while filming MasterChef.
The speaker, who is 60 years old, seemed to be doing well, despite allegations made by Penny, 54, only two days prior.
He was dressed down in a navy blue zip-up sweater and light-colored pants, and he was looking at his phone as he left the gym.
Gregg was unexpectedly removed from the cooking show this summer after an investigation revealed claims of inappropriate behavior over nearly twenty years.
The BBC addressed 45 complaints, notably including one regarding ‘unwanted physical contact’. This came just months after he had described those accusing him as a ‘handful of middle-class women of a certain age’ – a remark he subsequently apologized for.
Over the weekend, Penny, the wife of 80-year-old Scottish rock singer Rod Stewart, shared in her new book, Someone Like Me, that Gregg Wallace made her and other contestants feel uneasy from the very beginning when she was on the show in 2021. He unnerved them ‘day one’.
Remembering an experience with fellow competitor and former model Melanie Sykes, 55, she explains that a conversation in the studio ‘quickly went wrong’ when he came over to where she was cooking and she overheard him ask: ‘Is it true that models don’t eat?’
Penny exclaimed, ‘That’s completely inappropriate, I thought.’ Melanie was similarly surprised and reminded him that it had been twenty-five years since she’d done any modeling.
Furthermore, given my personal struggles with body image and the broader problem of eating disorders – such as anorexia and bulimia among models – the question struck me as insensitive and poorly considered. Essentially, he was criticizing women based on their bodies, plain and simple.
She clarified that when TV host Melanie visited her workplace ‘for a quick chat,’ she was ‘very upset’ by what he said.
At the time, Penny explained she dismissed it as Gregg simply being clumsy – a rough and unsophisticated man, but she also notes: ‘I realized that every time he came near me, our interactions always felt uncomfortable‘.
She explained to her audience: ‘I couldn’t quite identify it at first, but there was definitely a bad vibe surrounding Wallace. It felt like he intentionally tried to irritate people, particularly women.’
She noted that co-host John Torode always seemed much more serious and stern than Wallace, who began his career as a greengrocer. However, she explained that it was Wallace who immediately made her and the other competitors feel anxious.
She remembered one time when he casually picked a flower from her food, put it in his pocket, and then, after she asked him several times to return it, angrily tossed it onto the floor.
She stated she had been bullied and harassed, and explained: “I couldn’t figure out why Wallace treated me so badly. However, his posts on social media shortly after the story came out might offer some insight.”
The host of MasterChef faced criticism after receiving numerous complaints regarding claims of improper sexual remarks and conduct.
Penny was among those questioned during an investigation that reviewed over 83 complaints against him. Of those, 45 were confirmed to be true.
Gregg firmly rejected the accusations and, in social media posts last November, downplayed the complaints, stating they originated from just ‘a handful of middle-class women of a certain age’. Even Downing Street publicly criticized his remarks, calling them ‘inappropriate and misogynistic’ at the time.
In her memoir, Penny now attributes his “outburst” towards her to “a simple recipe of old-fashioned misogyny topped off with a sprinkling of ageism.”
It was because of this, she said, she decided to raise her concerns through the ‘proper channels’.
She continued by saying: ‘Eventually, I was asked to share my experience, and I did. It’s disheartening that in 2025, we still need to address this kind of conduct. I truly hope the people who made the show will learn from this and establish strong safety measures, like the ones I’ve seen on other sets.’
In November 2024, Banijay UK, the company behind the show, stated that Wallace would be taking a break from his position on MasterChef while claims of past inappropriate behavior were looked into.
A BBC representative stated at the time that they treat all concerns with seriousness and that the BBC will not accept any actions that don’t meet their established standards.
The report determined that most of the claims against Mr Wallace (94%) concerned incidents reportedly happening between 2005 and 2018. Only a single allegation was confirmed as true after 2018.
The report detailed several confirmed issues, including the use of inappropriate language, instances of someone being undressed, and one instance of unwelcome physical contact.
Following the confirmation of nearly half of the claims made against him, Wallace stated he was ‘deeply sorry for any distress caused’ and that he ‘never set out to harm or humiliate’ anyone.
In her memoir, Penny powerfully asserts: ‘No woman should ever have to go to work worrying about bullying or harassment, or return home feeling she’s experienced it.‘
Wallace’s representatives were contacted for comment.
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2025-09-29 15:04