Lorraine Kelly has furiously slammed the ‘toxic’ TV industry and Gregg Wallace’s ‘appalling behaviour’ in a fiery new rant.
MasterChef presenter Gregg, 60, is currently under investigation over a string of allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour – including from Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark – and stepped down from hosting the hit BBC cooking show in November.
The Scottish star, 65, was not holding anything back in a new interview where she discussed an ‘abuse of power’ that ‘should never happen’.
Lorraine told The Mirror: ‘There are toxic people in telly. We’re going through that at the moment. The behaviour of Gregg Wallace and other people that we’ve seen, should it come about as all true, is appalling.
‘There’s an imbalance of power there, and it’s abused. They’re just not right, and it should never happen.’
She added: ‘But how dare the people round about them allow and enable them to behave like that? It’s horrible and it’s toxic and nasty. I’ve got no time for people who abuse their power.’
Lorraine Kelly has furiously slammed the ‘toxic’ TV industry and Gregg Wallace ‘s ‘appalling behaviour’ in a fiery new rant
MasterChef presenter Gregg, 60, is currently under investigation over a string of allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour
MailOnline contacted representatives for Gregg Wallace for comment.
Wallace was initially bullish in the face of the allegations, taking to Instagram to say they mostly came from ‘middle class women of a certain age’.
He went on to ask: ‘Can you imagine how many women on MasterChef have made sexual remarks or sexual innuendo?’
Since then, several high-profile names – including TV presenter Ulrika Jonsson as well as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – have condemned his remarks in public statements.
The former greengrocer later apologised for the controversial comments which caused a PR storm.
The under-fire presenter said of his middle class women slur: ‘I wasn’t in a good headspace when I posted it. I’ve been under a huge amount of stress, a lot of emotion.
Among those to come forward with allegations against Wallace is a woman called Lisa, not her real name, who worked on BBC show Eat Well for Less in 2015.
She told the BBC Wallace ‘touched her inappropriately’ when they were filming in a supermarket.
‘He brushed past me at the checkout, and touched my bum with his waist and penis and laughed and said ‘oooh you liked that didn’t you’,’ she alleged.
‘It was the way he reacted, other people would’ve said ‘oh I’m sorry can I squeeze by’ which would’ve been ok.’
The Scottish star, 65, was not holding anything back in a new interview where she discussed an ‘abuse of power’ that ‘should never happen’
Wallace (RIGHT) was initially bullish in the face of the allegations, taking to Instagram to say they mostly came from ‘middle class women of a certain age’
Food critic Grace Dent, 51, is set to replace Wallace on MasterChef while the investigation into his behaviour takes place
Lisa also claims that she felt she had to continue working but was ‘not ok about it’, describing it as ‘slimy and disgusting’. She claims she raised it with a senior colleague but that nothing was ever done.
Banijay say they have no record of this incident being raised at RDF Television, which produced Eat Well For Less.
A second woman claims that she came across Wallace while working at an event in 2022.
The woman, known only as Sarah, claims that Wallace asked her to take him to the car park at the end of the event.
‘As we walked down, he started putting his arm around me, saying ‘go on, hold my hand, don’t you want to stand next to me’,’ she told the BBC.
Other claims include talking about his sex life on set, asking for women’s numbers and repeatedly questioning a gay woman about the ‘logistics’ of dating other women.
Gregg’s lawyers said ‘it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature’.
Food critic Grace Dent, 51, is set to replace Wallace on MasterChef while the investigation into his behaviour takes place.
Dent will judge the upcoming 20th series of Celebrity MasterChef, having appeared regularly as a guest and then even a contestant on MasterChef: Battle Of The Critics in 2022.
