MasterChef star Marcus Wareing didn't hold back when sharing his thoughts on his working partnership with co-star Gregg Wallace.
The top chef, who features in the professionals spin-off alongside Monica Galetti, has remained schtum after it was announced Wallace was stepping away from the popular cooking show. Wallace, 60, is now facing fresh allegations of harassment, which include touching a woman's bottom at an event and pressing his crotch against another one while filming on a different show. This comes after BBC News reported claims of inappropriate behaviour from 13 people across a range of shows over a 17-year period, last week.
Banijay UK, which produces MasterChef, previously said Wallace is "committed to fully co-operating" with the external review while his lawyers strongly denied "he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature". While Marcus, 54, hasn't directly responded to the claims against his co-star, he previously opened up about what it was like to work alongside the disgraced presenter.
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BBC/Shine TV)In anticipation of MasterChef: The Professionals' 15th series last year, Marcus touched on clashes between the trio, admitting "it f***s it all up" when Wallace has a say in the decision-making. He said: "If it was just me and Monica, then we're good at predicting the winner, but because Gregg is in the mix, it f***s it all up a bit.
"We have times where we do disagree but everyone's entitled to their point of view." Marcus went on to reveal that over time working together, he has learned to give up on being so persistent with his opinion. "There are three votes and in the early days I'd be fighting like a cat in a bag but now it's like, 'whatever'," he added.
Although chef Monica has remained silent in light of the allegations, she did appear to lend her support when she liked Wallace's Instagram post in response to the claims. Meanwhile longstanding co-star John Torode has also refrained from commenting on the recent accusations.
Back in 2017, he did reveal that they didn't have a friendship away from the cameras. He told The Sunday Mirror: "It's funny, we've never been friends. We've not been to each other's houses... He's so OCD, he wouldn't know what to do."
Wallace took to Instagram on Sunday in a rant about those making the allegations, which landed him in further trouble. In a video posted on his Instagram page, Wallace declared: "I've 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, all walks of life.
"Apparently now, I'm reading in the paper, there's been 13 complaints in that time. 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 20 years, 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?"
After receiving further criticism for his video, which has since been deleted, including from people who contested the "middle aged women" remark, Wallace later apologised for his comments. In a statement on Monday, he said: "I want to apologise for any offence that I caused with my post yesterday and any upset I may have caused to a lot of people.
"I wasn’t in a good headspace when I posted it, I’ve been under a huge amount of stress, a lot of emotion, I felt very alone, under siege yesterday, when I posted it. It’s obvious to me I need to take some time out, now, while this investigation is under way. I hope you understand and I do hope you will accept this apology."
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