Ulrika Jonsson has made a serious allegation about Gregg Wallace following the news that he is stepping back from his MasterChef duties.
The 60-year-old TV chef has decided to take a break from hosting BBC MasterChef after nearly two decades, amidst accusations of past misconduct.
Several individuals, including Jonsson who participated in the celebrity edition of the show in 2017, have now come forward with allegations about Wallace. On her Instagram stories, the 57-year-old TV presenter and model claimed that Gregg, 60, made a 'rape joke' on Masterchef, the Mirror reports.
The Swedish-British star expressed feeling as if she was being portrayed as a liar after Gregg's lawyers maintained that all the allegations were 'completely untrue'. In another Instagram story, Jonsson alleged that numerous members of the MasterChef crew were aware of what was happening and had supposedly witnessed Gregg's inappropriate behaviour.
She stated: "Plenty of crew on set who would not dare to speak up for fear of losing their jobs." Speaking to The Telegraph, Jonsson alleged that another female contestant had become "really distressed" following Wallace's supposed comments.
The star claimed that she saw the woman leaving the set and asked her what had occurred and said: "She then told us that Gregg Wallace had made a rape joke. She was really distressed about it."
The contestant confided in Jonsson about the distasteful joke before approaching a producer regarding the matter. She recalled: "They then went off to speak to Gregg. After a while he came up...and he apologised. He could hardly get his words out... He was apologising, and he had tears in his eyes."
Jonsson firmly believes Wallace shouldn't have told the joke at all. The situation was managed by on-set supervisors, who opted not to escalate it to Banijay, the production company officials.
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BBC News has disclosed that former Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark is one of 13 people who have accused the MasterChef host of unacceptable sexual remarks. Kirsty, who featured on the BBC cookery programme in 2011, alleged that Wallace made "jokes of a sexualised nature" during two instances while on set.
Speaking to BBC News, the Scots journalist criticised Wallace's comments as terribly misplaced. Amidst these allegations, Wallace has expressed his intent to fully engage with the ongoing BBC inquiry, according to Banijay UK's communication with PA news agency.
The statement read: "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 underway, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully cooperating 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."
It continued: "Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately. "
The BBC has said it takes any issues that are raised with it "seriously" after it was announced Wallace will step away from his role on MasterChef while complaints made to the corporation from individuals about historical allegations of misconduct are investigated.
A BBC spokesperson commented: "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."
Wallace has been a familiar face on MasterChef since 2005, alongside John Torode. His TV career extends to Celebrity MasterChef, MasterChef: The Professionals, Eat Well for Less?, Inside the Factory, and Time Commanders.
Additionally, he has hosted several travel documentaries for Channel 5 and ITV.
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