Leaked Gregg Wallace email casts new light on BBC MasterChef allegations

Gregg Wallace was reportedly warned by a BBC boss over his alleged unacceptable behaviour in 2017. The Times reports a BBC boss at the broadcaster warned Wallace in 2017 his behaviour on set was “unacceptable and cannot continue”.

Internal emails seen by the Sunday Times show BBC executive Kate Phillips – who now oversees unscripted programmes for the BBC – said she would ensure she was “informed straight away” should further allegations be made against the MasterChef host.

In an email, said to have been forwarded to Phillips in November 2017, a complainant wrote: “Should anything happen in future, I don’t want to feel guilty when people say ‘why wasn’t anything said before?’, or for producers or editors to claim they didn’t know.”

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Wallace has stepped down from MasterChef amid allegations of inappropriate sexual comments from 13 people who worked with him across a range of shows over a 17-year period. Among those alleging misconduct is former Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark, who claimed Mr Wallace told “sexualised” jokes during filming of a Celebrity MasterChef episode in 2011.

“There were two occasions in particular where he used sexualised language in front of a number of people and it wasn’t as if anyone engaged with this,” she said. Wallace allegedly also talked openly about his sex life and once told a junior female colleague he wasn’t wearing any underwear under his jeans, according to the BBC News investigation.

The BBC 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. It would be inappropriate for us to comment on anything that could form part of Banijay's ongoing investigation or otherwise influence it."