Gregg Wallace has admitted that he misses his MasterChef salary and "wearing nice clothes every day" as he lamented his BBC exit. Gregg, who for nearly 20 years was a familiar face on the BBC cooking show alongside John Torode, stepped away from the show in November 2024 while misconduct allegations were investigated.
Allegations and Aftermath
A review subsequently upheld 45 of 83 allegations made against him, including one instance described as "unwelcome physical contact", and Gregg was sacked from his presenting role last year. Gregg has since been poised to downsize, with the Mirror recently revealing that his £1.3m Kent home is currently on the market.
Life After MasterChef
Meanwhile, he continues to upload videos to his YouTube channel, The Gregg Wallace Way. In one recent instalment, he shared behind-the-scenes titbits from MasterChef, which he described as "secrets from 20 years". Towards the end of the video, he revealed what he misses about his former life.
He said: "There are a number of things I miss about not doing MasterChef anymore. And to be really honest, the first one is the money. It paid me really well. I did a lot of television over the years and it paid me really well. So, I miss that. Secondly, I miss the travel, all the restaurants we went to, the places around the world that we went to, just fantastic. But I also miss wearing nice clothes every day."
"I would get a budget to buy clothes on every series. And I did three series a year for 20 years. So, in the end, I just built up this lovely wardrobe of handmade clothes. Yeah, tailored clothes, suits, jackets, trousers, shirts. I had nice cufflinks, nice shoes."
Financial Impact
In 2024, The Sun reported that Gregg was earning £400,000, although this figure may also have covered other MasterChef-linked work. He was also understood to have earned money from other ventures. He added: "Now, my TV career ended in a horrible, horrible way, and I'm not sure I will ever get over it. But thinking about the 20 years I spent on MasterChef, it was one of the best experiences of my life, and I'm incredibly proud to have been involved with something that was so, so successful."
Downsizing for Financial Stability
Gregg, who is married to Anne-Marie Sterpini and has a young son, Sid, spoke previously on TikTok about his decision to sell his home, citing a desire for "financial stability". He said: "I can’t have the life I used to have but whether you chose to believe it or not, I really wanted to come out of it anyway. Now I've got some choices and I am sure I am not alone in this. I want to ease off a little bit, I want to relax a little bit. That also comes with wanting financial security for me and my family because I’ve got a wife that is much younger than me and a special needs little boy, Sid."
"I want to make sure I can have a certain lifestyle and that I leave a legacy for my family. That's not easy to do. So my plan is to sell this enormous house and buy a more modest house. I'll work less and possibly spend half of the year in Italy making adventures for my family because we love Italy."
