Gregg Wallace has spoken out about his departure from the TV show Inside The Factory.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that the MasterChef star was stepping down as host of Inside The Factory after seven years, stating at the time he wanted to spend more time with his four-year-old son Sid, whose needs he said at the time were “becoming more challenging”.
Gregg previously shared that Sid has autism, and is non-verbal.
However, shortly after his exit was confirmed, The Times reported that it came after Gregg was “given a talking to” after engaging in banter “that he believed to be friendly but was considered inappropriate”.
The newspaper claimed these remarks “are understood to have related to the weight of female staff members and were not sexual”.
Speaking to the same outlet in an interview published on Thursday, Gregg insisted the claims were “inaccurate”.
“I’ve enjoyed doing [Inside The Factory] for a number of years and I’ve done hundreds of factories,” he told the Times.
“I use humour to relax people. It’s a tool I’ve used for lots of years. I never, ever set out to upset or offend anybody and I never would. It makes me upset that I might have upset people.”
On the subject of humour, Gregg added later in the interview: “Things change, they evolve. So they should. We should be more careful.
“All I would say is perhaps we need to draw a line between people that are bullies or nasty people and people that have made a mistake. Perhaps.”
While Gregg will no longer be part of Inside The Factory, he is continuing on as a judge on MasterChef and its various spin-offs.
On Thursday morning, the line-up for the latest celebrity series was announced, featuring Strictly Come Dancing professional Dianne Buswell, pop singer Jamelia and former Love Island contestant Luca Bish.