Melanie Sykes has revealed she made an informal complaint about Gregg Wallace, stating that having to work with him on Celebrity MasterChef in 2021 was the reason she quit television. Sykes expanded on comments from her autobiography, saying in a YouTube video that she did not like Wallace being around her on set.
Vanessa Feltz also came forward with a claim that Wallace, on first meeting a friend of hers, described a sex act he had performed in a BBC lift. Feltz said the incident involved a friend who did not know Wallace and a young female employee, and that nothing was done about it at the time.
The BBC has rejected calls to pull MasterChef from its scheduled slot, with two more episodes of MasterChef: The Professionals set to air this week. Wallace stepped back from his role last week amid allegations of misconduct, including inappropriate touching, which are being investigated by production company Banijay.
Stephen Fry criticised Wallace for dismissing his accusers as “middle-class women of a certain age”, calling it “unbelievably foolish”. Labour MP Jess Phillips said she was comfortable with MasterChef continuing to air while Wallace is investigated, noting that he is not the only person on the show.
