John Torode repeatedly raised concerns about Gregg Wallace’s ‘less savoury behaviour’ but no action was taken
JOHN Torode repeatedly raised concerns about Gregg Wallace’s behaviour on MasterChef — but no action was taken.
The chef, 59, was unhappy about some of Wallace’s on-set language and was aware of his bullish reputation, pals say.
The Aussie is understood to have spoken to officials at production firm Banijay about his co-host.
He and actress wife Lisa Faulkner are now keen to publicly distance themselves from the scandal, viewing it as a PR disaster.
Last night, a source said: “John is not stupid — of course, he was aware of some of Gregg’s less savoury behaviour. He did not condone it, and nor did he engage with it.
He does not have a machismo sense of humour and when he made that comment about the pair of them not being friends in real life, he knew what he was doing.
“It was his way of distancing himself when attempts to do it otherwise failed.
“He repeatedly flagged his behaviour and poor-taste remarks to execs on set and made clear he wasn’t happy. It was never a formal complaint, rather a series of spoken concerns raised.
“He does not know whether any formal record was ever made but the sense he got was that bosses needed to protect the MasterChef brand at all costs and that meant turning a blind eye.
“He and Lisa are mortified with the fall-out, and are considering hiring a PR to help handle the situation and extract themselves as quickly as possible.”
Wallace is accused of making sexual remarks to staff and guests across multiple programmes over 17 years, as well as allegations of groping colleagues and contestants.
He denies any behaviour of a sexually harassing nature and has stepped back from MasterChef while Banijay UK investigates.
This week, John wrote on Instagram: “I love my job, and I love MasterChef. I love being part of it and will continue to be part of it.
“The thought of anyone who has appeared on our show not having a brilliant experience is awful to hear and I have found the recent Press reports truly upsetting.
John is not stupid — of course, he was aware of some of Gregg’s less savoury behaviour. He did not condone it, and nor did he engage with it
A source
“But as I hope everyone appreciates, there is an investigation under way, which I fully support, so I cannot make any further comment at this stage, and I hope that you all understand and respect my silence on the matter moving forward.”
His wife Lisa, 52, whom he met on Celebrity MasterChef in 2010, reposted his message.
They and Wallace, 60, no longer follow each other on Instagram — a move the Londoner prompted as he is reportedly devastated that his co-presenter did not back him.
John was best man at his co-host’s fourth wedding in 2016.
But in an interview the following year, he said pair “weren’t really friends” — which Wallace later claimed earned him a “telling off” from BBC bosses.
A spokesperson for John, who has presented MasterChef with Wallace since 2005, did not respond to requests for comment.
Gregg Wallace's career to date
Gregg Wallace has been a familiar face on TV for years now thanks to his role as a judge on MasterChef - but let's take a closer look at his career so far...
- Gregg Wallace left school at 15 and started his career working on a fruit and veg stall in London.
- In 1989, he started George Allan’s Greengrocers, a company that grew to a turnover of £7.5 million.
- Gregg’s experience in the world of fruit and veg lead to him co-hosting Veg Talk on BBC Radio 4 with Charlie Hicks for seven years.
- He then became the first host of Saturday Kitchen in 2002, a role he held for a year before being replaced by Antony Worrall Thompson in 2003.
- At the same time, Gregg presented a number of food-related TV specials, including Veg Out for the Discovery Channel.
- Gregg landed his most notable TV role as a co-presenter and judge on BBC’s competitive cooking show MasterChef in 2005. He stars alongside John Torode.
- In 2010 Gregg pursued another life-long dream of opening a restaurant. He opened the establishment Wallace & Co. in Putney.
- Then, in 2012, he opened Gregg’s Bar & Grill in a joint venture with the Bermondsey Square Hotel.
- Gregg then scored a hosting gig with the BBC, presenting the documentary Supermarket Secrets in August 2013.
- Unfortunately, times were tough for Gregg, and in the same month, it was reported that one of his companies, West Veg Limited, had folded, owing more than £500,000.
- In 2014, both of his restaurants folded, with Wallace & Co owing suppliers £150,000.
- However, his TV career continued to thrive, and in 2015 became the regularly host of the award-winning documentary food series Eat Well for Less? Gregg helmed the show for eight years before stepping away.
- He also competed on Strictly Come Dancing.
- Gregg then made Telly history again when he revived the BBC’s historical game show Time Commanders.
- More recently, the celebrity chef has presented a number of travel programmes such as Big Weekends with Gregg Wallace, South Africa with Gregg Wallace, and the food mockumentary, Gregg Wallace: The British Miracle Meat.