Sir Rod Stewart has branded Gregg Wallace an “ill-mannered bully” following the news the MasterChef judge would be stepping down from the show while an investigation takes place into complaints made to the BBC about historic allegations of misconduct.
Posting on Instagram on Thursday evening, the crooner claimed that Gregg had “humiliated” his wife, Penny Lancaster, when she was a guest on the celebrity version of MasterChef back in 2021.
“Good riddance, Wallace,” Sir Rod wrote of the presenter’s exit. “You humiliated my wife when she was on the show, but you had that bit cut out didn’t you?”
Blasting Gregg as a “tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully”, the Maggie May singer concluded: “Karma got ya.”
In the comments, reality star Charlotte Crosby claimed that Gregg had been “extremely unpleasant” towards her during her own stint on Celebrity MasterChef earlier this year.
HuffPost UK has contacted representatives for Gregg Wallace and MasterChef for comment.
On Thursday morning, the production company Banijay said in a statement: “This week the BBC received complaints from individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with presenter Gregg Wallace on one of our shows.
“Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate.
“While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process.”
Banijay’s spokesperson added: “Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.”
A BBC rep also said: “We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them.
“We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.
“Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them.”
BBC News also reported on Thursday that the current series of MasterChef: The Professionals – in which Gregg appears – will continue to air as scheduled during the investigation.
Last month, Gregg addressed reports in the tabloid press which claimed he had previously been the subject of an internal investigation at the BBC.
According to The Sun, Gregg’s future with the show was “under fire” after it “emerged” he had been at the centre of a BBC probe six years earlier.
The outlet claimed he had sparked “concerns” during a 2018 appearance on the gameshow Impossible Celebrities, citing an “insider” who claimed he had boasted about his sex life to a female staffer and took his top off in front of her.
A since-deleted response on Gregg’s Instagram read: “With reference to what’s in the newspapers, these allegations were investigated by the BBC six years ago – and my comments were found to be not sexual.”
“I don’t want anyone to misunderstand this and make it look like I was flirting with somebody,” he added. “Nobody accused me of that and I never have.”
On Thursday evening, Gregg spoke publicly for the first time since the news of him stepping away from MasterChef was made public.
In an Instagram video, he said: “I would like to thank all the people getting in touch, reaching out and showing their support. That’s good of you. Thank you very much.”