Fresh questions for BBC over misconduct claims
The BBC has faced fresh questions about its handling of allegations against Gregg Wallace since emails emerged in 2017 showing it had been warned about him.
According to the Sunday Timesbroadcaster Aasmah Mir complained that Wallace allegedly made inappropriate comments during the filming of Celebrity Chef.
But this week, a BBC News investigation revealed a series of allegations of inappropriate sexual comments and inappropriate behavior against the presenter, some of which related to incidents that occurred after Mill complained.
Wallace’s lawyers have strongly denied that he engaged in sexual harassment, while the BBC said it “will always listen if people want us to know something directly”.
Mill said she complained to the BBC about Greg Wallace’s comments on the cooking show.
BBC executive Kate Phillips said in an internal email that his behavior on set was “unacceptable and cannot continue”.
She added that she would ensure “immediate notification” if further charges were brought against him.
Mill later sent and copied Phillips an email that said: “This must never happen to another woman again.”
In addition, the “Observer” stated that a letter containing multiple accusations of inappropriate behavior by Greg Wallace was sent to the BBC in 2022, but it did not lead to further investigation at that time.
On Thursday, MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK said Wallace would quit the show while allegations of historical misconduct are investigated.
Banij added that the 60-year-old was “committed to cooperating fully throughout the entire process”.
This comes after BBC News sent a letter to Wallace’s representatives setting out the allegations we heard from 13 people over a 17-year period.
One of them was broadcaster Kirsty Wark, a contestant on Celebrity MasterChef in 2011, who said he told some “sexy” jokes during filming.
Since then, more and more people have come forward to make accusations against the host.
“We are all different,” Wallace wrote in an Instagram post on Saturday night.
His lawyers said the suggestion that he engaged in conduct of a sexually harassing nature was completely false.
The BBC said it had “robust processes” in place to deal with issues should they arise.
Earlier on Saturday, MasterChef producers announced they had appointed a “rigorous” law firm to lead the investigation into Wallace’s alleged misconduct.
On the appointment of London law firm Lewis Silkin, a spokesman for Banij UK said it was an “experienced and professional investigative team that has overseen a range of high-profile workplace investigations”.
