The BBC has informed Gregg Wallace that it will probably now not work with the previous MasterChef presenter as a result of his conduct is a menace to the security of others.
In a letter of dismissal, Claire Powell, head of compliance for BBC content material, informed Wallace that the UK nationwide broadcaster doesn’t “have the boldness you could change what appears to be discovered behaviour.”
The letter was cited in The Each day Telegraph and Each day Mirror. Deadline has verified its contents with a supply near Wallace.
The BBC wrote to Wallace forward of the publication of an unbiased evaluate into his conduct on MasterChef throughout his 20 years internet hosting the sequence. Banijay UK, the producer behind MasterChef, engaged Lewis Silkin to conduct the investigation final November following claims Wallace made lewd and inappropriate remarks on set.
In a press release on Tuesday, Wallace acknowledged that he had used “inappropriate language” between 2005 and 2018, however argued that extra critical allegations — together with groping and touching girls — had been thrown out by Lewis Silkin. An government abstract of the evaluate is predicted on Monday.
Wallace has claimed that his conduct might be attributed to his latest autism prognosis, lambasting MasterChef colleagues for “failing to guard me from what I now realise was a harmful surroundings.”
The 60-year-old presenter believes he has been the sufferer of incapacity discrimination and has engaged Dan Morrison, a accomplice at Grosvenor Legislation, to combat his nook. Lawrence Energy, a barrister at Whitestone Chambers, can be mentioned to be appearing for Wallace.
Within the BBC letter, Powell informed Wallace that the company had weighed up a wide range of elements in reaching its determination, together with earlier warnings and the impression on the “BBC’s repute.” The Telegraph reported that, in parallel with the Lewis Silkin evaluate, the BBC additionally examined Wallace’s conduct on different reveals, figuring out six incidents of concern courting again to 2005.
Powell’s letter continued: “I’ve additional taken under consideration the 2025 findings as they relate to your well being and up to date autism prognosis (as you could have publicly said). I’ve famous that you don’t contemplate sure environments to now be ‘secure’ for you.
“Along with the responsibility of care in direction of you, the BBC equally to keep in mind the security and responsibility of care owed in direction of contributors, members of the general public and colleagues on manufacturing groups that you could be have interaction with and the suitable use of licence price payers’ cash in establishing a secure working surroundings for all.
“The 2025 findings replicate that you just acknowledge a few of your feedback have offended or upset folks, however it’s clear that you just wrestle to differentiate the boundaries between acceptable and inappropriate behaviour within the office, in addition to missing consciousness of why your behaviour impacts others.
“I shouldn’t have confidence that your behaviour can change to make sure there’s a sufficiently secure and respectful surroundings for others working with you within the forms of programmes the BBC has engaged you to current. Such productions usually are not closely scripted programmes and contain sound and constant ranges of judgment in relation to interactions with others which can not always be monitored or supervised.”
A BBC spokeswoman mentioned: “Banijay UK instructed the legislation agency Lewis Silkin to run an investigation into allegations in opposition to Gregg Wallace. We aren’t going to remark till the investigation is full and the findings are revealed.”
