A former Masterchef winner has claimed BBC spent 20 years encouraging Gregg Wallace's alleged 'inappropriate behaviour'.
The MasterChef star - who has taken a step away from presenting the BBC cooking show - has had historical allegations of misconduct issued against him which are being externally reviewed. The 60-year-old also faces fresh claims of harassment, including touching a woman's bottom at an event and pressing his crotch against another one while filming on a different show.
His lawyers previously said it was "entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature" and Wallace has vehemently denied all allegations made against him.
MasterChef Staff members and former contestants, including celebrities such as Emma Kennedy and Kirsty Wark, have claimed Wallace made them feel uncomfortable on set. And now, former winner Mat Follas has shared his experience on the show after he won the 2009 series.
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Sunday Mirror)Follas has claimed that Wallace's alleged behavior was 'allowed' and 'certainly not discouraged' by BBC bosses who reportedly saw everything that was going on. The former MasterChef winner described Wallace as 'loud' and 'inappropriate' and claimed that show runners have 'spent 20 years encouraging the behavior'.
Taking to Instagram to share his opinion, Follas wrote: "I may regret posting this but let's have some balance rather than sanctimonious b*******.. Anyone who has been in the studio is not surprised at the revelations about Gregg's behavior in the studio. Anyone who has been there knows there was an environment where Gregg was allowed, encouraged... certainly not discouraged.
"IMHO (in my honest opinion) the blame is cultural they hired a loud, inappropriate, funny man to perform, they have spent 20 years encouraging the behaviour. He should have been censured when I was on the show 16 years ago but no one did, that I saw... including the BBC observers that were often present."
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PA)The former winner added that he had no comment on other behaviour Wallace has been accused of outside the studio. He said: "It takes huge bravery to step forward and he deserves what comes if they are accurate. I guess that the end of my chances of reappearing on the show."
It comes after it was revealed that two MasterChef celebrity Christmas specials have been pulled from the BBC’s schedule after the former greengrocer stepped away from hosting the cooking show while the complaints are being investigated. Wallace apologised on Monday for claiming complaints about his behaviour came from “a handful of middle-class women of a certain age”, adding he will now “take some time out”.
He faces allegations from 13 people across a range of shows over a 17-year period, as reported by BBC News on Thursday, with many others since sharing their experiences.
The Mirror has approached Wallace's representatives and a BBC spokesperson for comment on this story.
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