Gregg Wallace: a man out of time?
MasterChef presenter's downfall shines spotlight on how mistreatment of junior staff has all too often been ignored

On screen, Gregg Wallace's down-to-earth charm was one of "MasterChef"'s "key ingredients", said The Daily Telegraph. The former greengrocer from south London was known for lively banter that was often laced with innuendo. It didn't cause offence, but the BBC has now been thrown into crisis by allegations that, off camera, the 60-year-old's "cheeky chappy routine" crossed the line into behaviour that was deeply inappropriate at work – and as a result, Wallace has "stepped aside".
More than a dozen women have alleged that he told "disgusting", offensive and sexualised jokes, talked openly about his sex life and asked staff about theirs. Allegedly, he once arrived in the studio naked except for a sock over his penis. He is also accused of "jokily" pulling a female assistant's head towards his crotch after she'd knelt down to remove a stain from his trousers, and of putting his hands over another's bottom when she was bending over, and saying "Corr!". Didn't Wallace get the memo, wondered Yasmin Alibhai-Brown in The i Paper. Sexist "banter" of this sort was the norm at work in the 1970s when he started in the veg business, but it wasn't by the time he moved into TV in 2002.
And though he insists he's done nothing wrong, he hardly helped his case by dismissing his accusers as "middle-class women of a certain age". He has since apologised for this, but there was a kernel of truth in it, said Eleanor Mills in The Independent. In a precarious industry, older women, with well-established careers, may end up speaking out for the sake of younger ones. Kirsty Wark, who once appeared on "Celebrity MasterChef", got the ball rolling. Kirstie Allsopp later tweeted that the first time she met Wallace, in a TV green room, he'd told her about a sex act. "Did he get off on how embarrassed I was?" she asked. But women had not been silent before. Over the years, several had reported his conduct to the BBC. Yet he just got a "talking to", and it seems nothing changed.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
There's the nub of it, said Aggie MacKenzie in the Daily Express. Wallace deserved to be called out for his offensive behaviour. But in the media pile-on and public shaming, we seem to be forgetting that he has not been accused, let alone convicted, of anything criminal – yet his life is being destroyed even so. And, in this frenzy, we risk missing the broader issue, which is that junior staff didn't feel able to challenge the star presenter, and executives allowed a toxic working environment to fester. Tearing down one man won't bring meaningful change. For that, we must focus on the systemic failures.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
How will Trump's megabill affect you?
Today's Big Question Republicans have passed the 'big, beautiful bill' through Congress
-
Scientists are the latest 'refugees'
In the spotlight Brain drain to brain gain
-
5 dreamy books to dive into this July
The Week Recommends A 'politically charged' collection of essays, historical fiction goes sci-fi and more
-
6 sleek homes for modernists
Feature Featuring a concrete-and-steel home in South Carolina and a renovated 19th-century former carriage house in Pennsylvania
-
The Genius Myth: a 'fresh and unpretentious' book from Helen Lewis
The Week Recommends This 'angry, witty book' by Helen Lewis is a valuable critique of the 'flattering fiction' of genius
-
From Hilde, With Love – the 'moving' story of an accidental revolutionary
The Week Recommends Liv Lisa Fries gives a 'compelling' performance as the soft-spoken heroine.
-
Exploring Georgia's southern highlands
The Week Recommends Visit Javakheti, Georgia's 'lake district', and meet the last-remaining 'spirit wrestlers' in the region
-
Music reviews: Bruce Springsteen and Benson Boone
Feature "Tracks II: The Lost Albums" and "American Heart"
-
Thomas Mallon's 6 favorite books from the 80's and early 90's
Feature The author recommends works by James Merrill, Calvin Trillin, and more
-
Netflix and the second screen phenomenon
In The Spotlight Programme makers claim they're being asked to cater for distracted viewers
-
The tourist flood in the Mediterranean: can it be stemmed?
Talking Point Finger-pointing at Airbnb or hotel owners obscures the root cause of overtourism in holiday hotspots: unmanageable demand