Fans of MasterChef: the Professionals noticed an "awkward" apparent reference to Gregg Wallace by his co-stars Marcus Wareing and Monica Galetti on the latest episode.
It comes amid the ongoing scandal involving Gregg, 60, who has stepped away from his role on MasterChef whilst its production company Banijay UK review apparent historical misconduct complaints. As previously reported, his lawyers previously said it was 'entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature'.
The latest series of MasterChef: the Professionals however has continued to air. The episode that aired on Thursday concluded the semi-finals and one scene saw the remaining five contestants tasked with making a three-course meal collectively. Gregg did not feature in that part of the episode, though he was seen later on for a subsequent task.
The meal ended up including a chocolate and thyme ganashe, which was tasted by Marcus, 54, and Monica, 49. Marcus said: "This is good. This is absolutely delicious." Monica added: "This is a delightful, delightful dessert." Marcus then shared: "I've eaten all of it." Monica replied: "You've done a Gregg." Marcus reacted: "I've done a Gregg."
Viewers pointed out the "awkward" reference in light of the recent allegations about Gregg. One person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, recently: "Not sure [Marcus] or Monica will be using the phrase 'I've done a Gregg' again."
Another said: "Poor choice of words on Masterchef tonight after the breaking news about Gregg Wallace in the past week." Whilst a third wrote: "You couldn't help but wince a little at the unfortunate timing of that comment."
Someone reacted: "That's an unfortunate Masterchef line on demolishing an entire plate of food 'oh you've done a Gregg'." Another viewer said: "Oh dear.... Memes incoming!" One fan wrote on the platform: "I think Marcus may regret the phrase 'I've done a Gregg' on MasterChef this evening."
Others suggested that the reference during the episode was "awkward". It included one person who wrote in a tweet on Thursday night: "I've done a Gregg .. awkward." Whilst one fan shared gif that read "awkward" in their post about it.
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BBC/Shine TV)The episode's broadcast comes amid the scandal involving Gregg, who has faced a series of allegations in recent days. Initially, last week, it was reported that Gregg would be stepping away from MasterChef while allegations from 13 people that he made inappropriate sexual comments are investigated. The allegations are said to have been made by people working across a range of shows over a 17-year period. It's been reported that his lawyers have said it was 'entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature'.
Banijay UK said in a statement last week: "This week the BBC received complaints from individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with presenter Gregg Wallace on one of our shows. Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate.
"While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process. Banijay UK's duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set."
Whilst a BBC spokesperson previously 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."
Following the initial allegations, Gregg said in his video: "I have been doing MasterChef for 20 years - amateur, celebrity and professional MasterChef - and I think in that time I have worked with over 4,000 contestants of all different ages, all different backgrounds [and] all walks of life. And apparently now I am reading in the paper there's been 13 complaints in that time. Now in the newspaper I can see the complaints coming from a handful of middle-class women of a certain age just from Celebrity Masterchef. This isn't right. [...] In over 20 years of television, can you imagine how many women, female contestants, on MasterChef have made sexual remarks or sexual innuendo. Can you imagine?"
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