Former Masterchef star Gregg Wallace opens up about his legal fight with the BBC after his sacking from the hit cooking show that alos saw John Torode axed
Gregg Wallace has spoken out (Image: BBC)
TV star Gregg Wallace says his lawyers believe he is the victim of a “terrible injustice” as his legal fight with the BBC hots up. The star is suing the Corporation in the wake of his Masterchef sacking for access to their unredacted copies of his personal data.
It could pave the way for a separate, full-blown claim against the BBC, which is likely to focus on his autism. And speaking this week, Wallace said: “There is a legal team around me now and I can’t say too much. They have picked it up and gone: ‘this is a terrible injustice. A terrible, terrible injustice.”
Wallace added: “They are saying: ‘here’s an investigation that says you’re not groping, you’re definitely not flashing, you’re not sexually harassing, you’re not bullying anybody. So why are you in this position and who is responsible for it?’”
Wallace’s dismissal followed a report that upheld more than 40 allegations about his conduct on MasterChef, including one of unwelcome physical contact and three of being in a state of undress. He has since submitted a claim at the High Court claiming up to £10,000 in damages from the BBC for allegedly causing him “distress and harassment”. Wallace claims the broadcaster failed to comply with his request for copies of his personal data related to “his work, contractual relations and conduct” after sacking him in July. He could launch a second action regarding his sacking which centres on his autism diagnosis, which he was diagnosed with at the beginning of last year.
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Gregg Wallace has hit back(Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images for Smiley Charity Film Awards)
Speaking to fans online, Gregg opened up about how his autism influenced his behaviour while working on Masterchef and other BBC shows. He pointed to the fact that the independent report into Masterchef concluded that his autism diagnosis was “highly relevant” and how he used humour to mask his condition. And he claimed that the highly-charged atmosphere in TV studios – coupled with his autism – led to him “tripping up.”
“My job was to be energized and excitable….and when we would go into the studio, first thing in the morning, the directors would whip you up,” he explains.
“They go, ‘you do it again. Give it some energy. Come on. You’re going into a quarterfinal. This is big.’ And they would hype you up, because that’s the energy they wanted.” They would let you loose and you are not scripted so your chances of tripping up and saying something inappropriate is really high.” He added: “When you say something funny, people around you are laughing, like the cameramen and the directors, and so you think it’s okay, but what you don’t expect is someone to come back 12 years later and go, ‘Well, he mentioned this and it was rude.’”
Gregg with John Torode on Masterchef(Image: BBC/Shine TV)
He added: “Nobody around me complained at the time, and there was no complaint after 2018 so can you see the dilemma I was facing there……nobody at the time told me it was wrong. In fact, they kept giving me more TV shows to do.” He said the atmosphere was totally different to a usual work environment, adding “You’re being hyped up by the directors to be in a heightened state of energy.”
Wallace has previously complained nothing was done to investigate his “neurodiversity” while he was on MasterChef, which he hosted from 2005. Under the 2010 Equalities Act, employers must protect those with disabilities, including autism.
In a statement issued after his dismissal, Wallace said: “My neurodiversity, now formally diagnosed as autism, was suspected and discussed by colleagues across countless seasons of MasterChef. “Yet nothing was done to investigate my disability or protect me from what I now realise was a dangerous environment for over 20 years. That failure is now being quietly buried.”
Dan Harris, who runs the charity Neurodiversity in Business and is himself autistic, said people like him “may miss social cues sometimes”.
“But autism is not a free pass for bad behaviour,” he told the BBC.
“Comments like this stigmatise us and add an unfortunate negative focus on our community.”
The charity Ambitious About Autism also dropped Wallace as an ambassador in the wake of the original claims against him.
Wallace, 60, previously issued an apology saying he was “deeply sorry for any distress caused” and that he “never set out to harm or humiliate” in the wake of the Lewis Silkin review in which 45 out of 83 allegations made against him were upheld. There were also substantiated complaints of inappropriate sexual language and humour. Following his dismissal, Wallace previously said: “I’m not a groper, People think I’m a sex pest. I am not.”
The BBC has said Wallace is not “entitled to any damages” in response to the High Court claim. In its defence filed at the High Court, Jason Pobjoy KC, for the BBC, said: “It is denied that the claimant has suffered any distress or harassment as a result of the responses of the BBC. It is denied that the claimant is entitled to any damages, interest or other relief, whether as pleaded or otherwise.” The BBC declined to comment on his latest comments.
John Torode was also sacked as MasterChef presenter after an allegation against him using “an extremely offensive racist term” was upheld. In an Instagram statement, the TV chef said he had “no recollection” of what he is accused of, and said he had hoped to have some say in his exit.The show’s production company Banijay said it and the BBC “are agreed” that his contract on the show will not be renewed.
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