Gregg Wallace: Everything you need to know about Masterchef presenter stepping down

Gregg Wallace, the MBE-awarded MasterChef presenter who has go a staple successful surviving rooms crossed the nation, announced contiguous that helium volition beryllium stepping distant from his relation connected the deed BBC amusement portion the transmission investigates “historical allegations of misconduct”. This misconduct allegedly includes “sexually inappropriate jokes”.

Speaking connected behalf of the 60-year-old southbound London-born chef, MasterChef's accumulation company, Banijay, said successful a statement: “This week the BBC received complaints from individuals successful narration to humanities allegations of misconduct portion moving with presenter Gregg Wallace connected 1 of our shows.

“Whilst these complainants person not raised the allegations straight with our amusement producers oregon genitor institution Banijay UK, we consciousness that it is due to behaviour an contiguous outer reappraisal to afloat and impartially investigate.

“While this reappraisal is nether way, Gregg Wallace volition beryllium stepping distant from his relation connected MasterChef and is committed to afloat cooperating passim the process.”

In the meantime, episodes of MasterChef: The Professionals which person already been filmed and see Wallace volition proceed to air.

Wallace was calved successful 1964 successful Peckham, wherever helium was raised by his mother, Mary Pettman, and his father, whose sanction is unknown. According to Wallace, “My parents broke up erstwhile I was young and I mislaid each direction.”

As portion of this nonaccomplishment of direction, Wallace dropped retired of schoolhouse and failed to prosecute his imagination of completing a past degree. “Messing up the accidental of higher acquisition is an tremendous regret,” helium told the Daily Mail successful 2011.

Wallace was sexually abused erstwhile helium was a young boy, a portion of accusation helium revealed successful his 2012 autobiography, Life connected a Plate. “I ideate my acquisition is typical,” Wallace aboriginal said portion appearing connected Loose Women. “You consciousness guilty, you consciousness similar you’re playing immoderate portion successful it – atrocious I’m getting a spot affectional – and of people you haven’t.”

Comparing the maltreatment to children who are abused by their shot coaches, Wallace said: “I wanted radical to cognize due to the fact that it happens due to the fact that it’s radical that you similar and that you're adjacent to - it's not idiosyncratic lasting successful a mac successful an alleyway. It's idiosyncratic whose quality to the remainder of the satellite is that of a decent person. It’s an atrocious thing.”

After dropping retired of school, Wallace started moving astatine a warehouse aged 15, selling effect and vegetables astatine Covent Garden Fruit and Veg Market. In his aboriginal 20s, Wallace acceptable up his ain business, George Allan's Greengrocers, which would spell connected to nutrient a turnover of £7.5 million.

In 2010, Wallace delved deeper into the nutrient country by opening the edifice Wallace & Co successful Putney, wherever helium served arsenic 1 of the directors. In 2012, helium opened Gregg's Bar & Grill successful a associated task with the Bermondsey Square Hotel. Both ventures folded by 2014, but Wallace was already making notable advancement successful different field.

Wallace was selected to beryllium the archetypal presenter of Saturday Kitchen connected BBC One erstwhile it started 2002, until helium was aboriginal replaced by Antony Worrall Thompson successful 2003.

But Wallace had already made a sanction for himself arsenic a nonmigratory telly “Veg Man”, truthful a bid of different gigs followed: Veg Out connected the Discovery Channel, Follow That Tomato for The Food Channel and Veg Talk connected BBC Radio 4.

In 2005, Wallace joined the formed of MasterChef alongside Aussie-British TV cook John Torode. The brace person starred ever since, marking a adjacent 20-year committedness to the show. Wallace has appeared arsenic a TV property connected different shows since, specified arsenic Strictly Come Dancing and Who Do You Think You Are?, but is known for his enactment connected MasterChef supra each else.

Meanwhile, Wallace’s romanticist beingness has been acold little consecutive forward. Wallace has been joined 4 times and divorced 3 times, with his archetypal matrimony (to woman Christine successful 1991) lasting conscionable six weeks.

Wallace shares 2 children, Tom and Libby, with his 2nd wife, Denise, a erstwhile pastry chef, who helium joined successful 1999. Tom is present 30 years aged and Libby is 27.

Wallace met his 3rd wife, Heidi, successful 2009. They joined successful 2010 but divided aft 15 months of marriage.

Finally, Wallace settled down with woman Anne-Marie Sterpini successful 2013. 21 years his junior, Wallace met Sterpini via Twitter, and the brace tied the knot astatine a castle successful Kent successful 2016, with John Torode serving arsenic Wallace’s champion man.

Wallace and Sterpini welcomed their son, Sid, successful 2019, a determination Wallace aboriginal told reporters that this was not “something that I would person chosen astatine my age" but did to delight his wife.

Five-year-old Sid is autistic and non-verbal. Wallace precocious came nether occurrence for his alternatively hands-off parenting of Sid, pursuing the work of a day-in-the-life benignant interrogation called My Saturday for The Telegraph.

Wallace details however helium wakes up astatine 5am but doesn’t look to interact with his lad until 1.30pm, past has his woman navigator luncheon for him and spends clip playing humanities machine games. He besides explains how, successful instrumentality for having a kid with woman Anne-Marie Sterpini, helium requested live-in childcare help, which comes successful the signifier of Sterpini’s mother.

Public cognition of Wallace has not been peculiarly fond since the work of this article, which 1 Reddit idiosyncratic said “makes him dependable similar a psychopath”. Others noted that it reads precise likewise to Blur’s Parklife.

Now, Wallace finds himself astatine the centre of a misconduct tempest which the BBC accidental is wholly historical. According to BBC figures, Wallace was connected a wage of £250,000 backmost successful 2016 for his enactment connected MasterChef, though his much caller wage is unknown.

This misconduct allegedly included sexually inappropriate jokes, according to chap broadcaster Kirsty Wark. Wallace’s lawyers person said it is wholly mendacious that helium engages successful sexually harassing behaviour.

A BBC spokesperson said: “We instrumentality immoderate issues that are raised with america earnestly and we person robust processes successful spot to woody with them.

“We are ever wide that immoderate behaviour which falls beneath the standards expected by the BBC volition not beryllium tolerated.

“Where an idiosyncratic is contracted straight by an outer accumulation institution we stock immoderate complaints oregon concerns with that institution and we volition ever enactment them erstwhile addressing them.”