Gregg Wallace has spoken out about an on-set argument that preceded his exit from the show Inside The Factory.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that the MasterChef judge was leaving the BBC documentary series after seven years as host, which he said at the time was due to the fact he wanted to spend more time with his four-year-old son Sid.
He had previously shared that Sid has autism, and is non-verbal, explaining as he announced his Inside The Factory exit that his son’s needs were “becoming more challenging”.
Shortly after his exit was confirmed, The Times reported that Gregg had previously been “given a talking to” after engaging in banter “that he believed to be friendly but was considered inappropriate”.
The newspaper claimed the alleged remarks “related to the weight of female staff members and were not sexual”, with Gregg dismissing the reports during an interview in June.
During an appearance on Tuesday’s edition of Good Morning Britain, the TV chef insisted once again that the “reporting isn’t accurate”, but confirmed that there was “an argument [at] Inside The Factory”.
“There was an issue and I thought that was the perfect time to come out,” Gregg told GMB presenter Richard Madeley.
“Offending people? No, no. If you look at the headlines you can’t see a story that matches those headlines. But there was an issue, I don’t want to discuss what the issue was.”
He added: “I thought that was a good time... [Gregg’s wife Anne-Marie Sterpini needed] help with Sid at home, [and I was] running around the country going to those factories – may be a good time to give something up.”
The BBC had no comment when contacted by HuffPost UK.
While his time on Inside The Factory may now be over, Gregg can still be seen in action as a judge on MasterChef, with the latest celebrity version of the show currently airing on BBC One.
Good Morning Britain airs every weekday on ITV.