MasterChef is put on the back burner as bosses feel they have ‘no other option’ amid Gregg Wallace’s ‘sexual misconduct’ probe

MasterChef is on ice. The veteran amateur cookery competition has been in crisis since allegations against co-presenter Gregg Wallace surfaced last year.

One-time grocer Wallace, 60, stepped away from the show in the wake of a number of allegations that he had indulged in sexist banter and harassed contestants. He denies any wrongdoing.

When the scandal broke in November, a series of amateur MasterChef was all but complete. Chef Anna Haugh stepped in for the last few filming days alongside John Torode.

That show has now been edited and is ready for broadcast on BBC One. It usually goes out between February and April, but has yet to be scheduled for release.

Sources say the BBC feel they have no option but to wait for the outcome of an inquiry into what went on, which is being conducted by lawyers at the firm Lewis Silkin.

They did not want to scrap the show, as it would have punished those who took part.

It was not possible to edit out Wallace’s contributions, as he tastes the dishes alongside Torode and also chats to contestants.

Lawyers are still interviewing everyone from former contestants to the crew — and of course Wallace himself. Word is that he has yet to give his account.

Then they will report to production company Banijay and the Beeb, with the findings expected to be made public. The Corporation will then decide if it can be shown.

A planned celebrity Christmas MasterChef was scrapped.

In January this year, food critic Grace Dent started filming Celebrity MasterChef alongside Torode. It’s not clear whether she will end up being a permanent replacement for Wallace, and indeed whether Torode will continue in his role.

In all, 13 individuals said that Wallace had made inappropriate sexual comments. Wallace said through lawyers that he has never engaged in sexual harassment. In an Instagram video he said there were ’13 complaints’ from ‘over 4,000 contestants’ he had worked with in 20 years on the BBC show.

He went on to say the allegations came from ‘a handful of middle-class women of a certain age’. He later apologised for those remarks.

After almost three months out of the limelight, Gregg was spotted in public for the first time last week.

Gregg said he was stepping back from the public eye, claiming he ‘wasn’t in a good headspace’, but he has now been photographed running errands near his Kent home.

Mr Wallace looked serious behind the wheel of his top of the range BMW as he drove through a busy high street this week. 

Gregg was last seen in public on November 28, when the scandal about his alleged behaviour broke.

Days later he also took a break from social media when he initially claimed the allegations came from ‘middle-class women of a certain age’ – and then apologised.

He also returned to Instagram earlier this month as friends said he had been ‘in hiding’, with a video on how to make protein pancakes.

It’s now almost three months since the greengrocer-turned-television star’s career spectacularly derailed amid a flurry of claims of inappropriate behaviour during his 19-year stint as co-host of MasterChef.

It was announced the father-of-three would be stepping back from the BBC show amid an investigation into his conduct.

It later emerged that 13 individuals, including Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark , had reportedly accused him of ‘wrong’ and ‘sexualised’ behaviour during filming across a range of shows over a 17-year period.

Three days after the announcement, the presenter landed himself in more trouble when he declared that his accusers were ‘middle-class women of a certain age’ and claimed that ‘absolutely none’ of the staff on his other shows had complained about him.

Afterwards, Gregg released a somewhat red-faced apology, stating: ‘I wasn’t in a good headspace when I posted it. I’ve been under a huge amount of stress, a lot of emotion.’

Lawyers, meanwhile, said it was entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.

And then came silence – until early in February.

Gregg’s last post on social media was on November 27 – just one day before the allegations against him made headlines.

But he is back, promoting healthy foods, recipes and good mental health.

According to locals in the peaceful Kent village, near to Gregg’s home, he has been ‘lying low’.

One said: ‘He always used to say hello. We haven’t seen or heard him for weeks.’

Neither has the presenter been seen picking up fish from his local farm shop, which he previously described in a much-mocked account of his daily routine.

A worker at the Hartley Farm Shop and Cafe, in nearby Cranbrook, told the Mail: ‘I’ve not seen him since the whole fallout. He was always having a laugh in here with people. It’s a shame really.’

The Mail understands that the ‘review’ into Gregg’s behaviour on MasterChef is due to be concluded by the end of February, but that he has yet to be interviewed by the external team in charge of it, who were commissioned by production company Banijay.

A spokesman for Banijay said the investigation is still ongoing and there was no ‘date for issue’ at this stage.

Sources told the Mail’s Alison Boshoff that while he has been spending time with his family, he’s also been focusing on his business Gregg Wallace Health.

‘That’s his main other thing outside of the TV presenting,’ says one source.

A TV source added: ‘He’s basically got to wait until this investigation is concluded, so there is not a lot he can do until that’s done. So, he is in a bit of a hiatus at the moment and a bit of limbo. He is waiting to see.

‘He’s used to working. MasterChef is pretty much a year-round, full-time job. So, he is used to doing that. But he has just got to wait for this investigation to run its course.

‘I think he has come to the realisation over time that it is serious stuff.’