Further allegations against MasterChef star Gregg Wallace

Further allegations have been made against TV presenter Gregg Wallace after he stepped away from hosting hit BBC show MasterChef while an investigation into complaints was carried out.

On Thursday, Banijay UK, the cooking show’s production company, said the BBC has received complaints from individuals regarding “historic allegations of misconduct” while working with Wallace.

He is “committed to fully cooperating throughout the entire process,” the company said.

On Friday evening, news media such as The Sun newspaper published reports about other alleged behavior by Wallace.

Earlier in the day, the charity Ambitious About Autism said it had dropped him as ambassador, citing the “recent allegations”.

On Thursday, Wallace thanked his followers in an Instagram video, saying: “I’d like to thank all the people who have reached out, reached out and shown their support.

“It’s good of you, thank you very much.”

The same day, BBC News reported that the 60-year-old was facing allegations from 13 people in a series of shows over a 17-year period, including former Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark.

The TV star’s lawyers say that “it is completely false that he engaged in conduct of a sexually harassing nature,” BBC News reported.

A BBC spokesperson said it takes all issues “seriously” and that “any behavior that does not meet the standards the BBC expects will not be tolerated”.

“It would be inappropriate for us to comment on anything that could be part of or otherwise impact Banijay’s ongoing investigation,” the company also said.

Following allegations made by staff members about Wallace’s behavior during Gregg Wallace’s Big Weekends to BBC News, Channel 5 asked the programme’s production company Rumpus Media to investigate the allegations.

Rumpus Media said: “We do not tolerate inappropriate behavior in our productions.

“Our extensive duty of care processes were in place during the production of these series and all issues raised would have been investigated accordingly.”

Wallace is best known for co-presenting MasterChef alongside John Torode since 2005, as well as its spin-offs Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals.