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Lisa Faulkner won Celebrity MasterChef in 2010 (Image: Ray Tang/Rex)
Gregg Wallace heaped praise on Lisa Faulkner after she appeared on Celebrity MasterChef in 2010.
Nearly 15 years ago, the actress walked into the MasterChef kitchen in the hopes of impressing judges Gregg and John Torode.
And that's exactly what she did. The 52-year-old was crowned champion of the cooking series, with Gregg later declaring her the best winner the show had ever seen.
"Lisa elevates humble food into something beautiful. She’s possibly the best Celebrity MasterChef winner we have ever had," he said at the time.
Lisa went on to marry John in 2019.
Although Gregg had nothing but positive words to say about Lisa, the same couldn't be said for the way she spoke about the broadcaster, who stepped back from MasterChef while allegations of misconduct are investigated.
Lisa claimed that Gregg would constantly tell inappropriate jokes on set (Image: Getty)
While promoting their cookbook, John and Lisa's Kitchen, at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, Lisa told the crowd: "Gregg was telling - I'm probably not allowed to say this…Gregg just told rude joke after rude joke to the crew.
"You're just sitting there and if you're on the front bench just chopping away thinking, 'I've got ten minutes left', and he's saying, 'So this girl walked into a bar…And I'm going, 'Please, I don't want to hear this joke'.
John, 59, who was on stage with her at the time, said: "It's changed quite a lot really…"
Gregg is said to be "furious" with John, his MasterChef co-host since 2005, after he failed to publicly support him during the escalating scandal.
With John remaining silent in the wake of numerous allegations made against him, Gregg shockingly unfollowed the couple on social media.
Gregg has stepped down from MasterChef while allegations of misconduct are being investigated (Image: Getty)
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The allegations against Gregg span over 17 years, with 13 individuals accusing him of making sexually inappropriate comments and jokes.
Other allegations include requesting phone numbers from female production staff, standing too close to women working on his shows and talking openly about his sex life on set.
Gregg's lawyers have refuted the claims, saying "it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature".
In light of the allegations, the BBC cancelled its two festive episodes which featured celebrities such as The Wanted singer Max George, Emmerdale actor Amy Walsh, reality star Luca Bish and comedian Shazia Mira.
The second installment called MasterChef Meets Strictly Festive Extravaganza was due to feature professional dancers Amy Dowden, Gorka Marquez, Kai Widdrington and Nancy Xu, with judge Motsi Mabuse setting a challenge.
English (US) ·