A Place in the Sun presenter Jean Johansson has claimed Gregg Wallace was 'constantly inappropriate' to her when she appeared on Celebrity MasterChef.
She took part in the show in 2018 alongside the likes of John Partridge, AJ Pritchard, Spencer Matthews, Frankie Bridge and more. She revealed she was shocked by his behaviour during filming and said it was obvious that the crew, producers and directors were used to Wallace's behaviour.
"I remember quite a few moments in our interactions when I was thinking they’ll never use this (on TV) because the things he was saying were so off colour," she claimed. "I consider myself someone who loves to laugh, I’m adaptable to new working environments and I can handle different personalities but I was shocked by some of Gregg’s ‘banter’. He’s arrogant, loud and self important, the type of guy who cracks up at his own one-liners.
“He wasn’t at all what I expected as I’ve always found his on-screen persona likeable and fun but in real life he was dismissive, rude and knew exactly when to turn it on for the cameras. It was also obvious to me that that the crew and directors and producers were used to it."
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BBC/Shine TV Ltd)The star continued, according to The Sunday Mail: "They know the star of their show so they acted like it was completely normal. And therein lies a big part the problem.” She revealed she was speaking out about what allegedly happened after he claimed the women who made complaints about him were "middle class and of a certain age".
"I’m working class and younger than the women who have taken issue with his conduct yet I can concur he was massively unprofessional and was constantly inappropriate," she said. "I don’t like what he’s implying about the people who have spoken up. He’s trying to bunch them all into a group bizarrely suggesting class and age has something to do with taking offence but the one thing they all have in common is that they’re extremely bright and successful women who could see through the TV’s nice guy act within seconds.”
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handout)Jean said she raised a complaint with Banijay, which is the production company that makes MasterChef. She said she also spoke to the BBC's then-controller of entertainment commissioning Kate Phillips. Jean stated that people in the industry who enable this behaviour must be held accountable.
She added: “The BBC should be on top of making sure the set on Celebrity Masterchef is professional and pleasant at all times.”
Meanwhile, a BBC spokesperson said: “In recent days there has been concerning allegations made via the media about the alleged conduct of Gregg Wallace, many of which relate to shows made for the BBC. These media stories are running alongside an independent investigation, which was instigated after formal complaints were made direct to the BBC and were referred to Banijay UK for further investigation. We would like to thank those who have had the courage to speak out. We have always been clear that should people want to raise issues with the BBC, they will be taken very seriously.”
A BBC spokesperson stated: “In recent days there has been concerning allegations made via the media about the alleged conduct of Gregg Wallace, many of which relate to shows made for the BBC. These media stories are running alongside an independent investigation, which was instigated after formal complaints were made direct to the BBC and were referred to Banijay UK for further investigation.
"We would like to thank those who have had the courage to speak out. We have always been clear that should people want to raise issues with the BBC, they will be taken very seriously.” The Mirror have reached out to Wallace's reps for comment.
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