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  • February 18, 2025
Accusations from Gregg Wallace point to a ‘culture of silence’: Minister

Accusations from Gregg Wallace point to a ‘culture of silence’: Minister

There are “too many cultures of silence”, said Lisa Nandy, following the allegations against MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace.

Speaking to MPs on Tuesday, Nandy said she is “prepared to take further action” if the media industry cannot address the claims of misconduct.

Wallace stepped aside two weeks ago at the presentation of MasterChef, after a BBC News investigation revealed allegations of inappropriate sexual comments and behavior towards him.

His lawyers have strongly denied that he is guilty of sexually harassing behavior.

Nandy appeared before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee and spoke about recent behavioral questions, including those surrounding Wallace.

She said: ‘Having spoken to the BBC in recent weeks about the Gregg Wallace allegations, I am very clear that we are seeing too many of these cultures of silence and issues being swept under the carpet.

“People who cannot go through the current complaints system because it would impact their career and possibly end their career.

“And it is clear to me that people need to be heard, that action needs to be taken and perpetrators need to be held accountable.”

Our research heard from 13 people of different ages, working on five different shows.

Among them was broadcaster Kirsty Wark, who appeared on Celebrity MasterChef. However, most were production workers. Many were freelancers.

Nandy said one of her concerns is that the creative industry is heavily reliant on freelancers: “It’s very loose employment contracts, people are often hired or promoted because of who they know, whether they’re nice or trusted, and you get a lot of younger people coming into these industries, and there is a huge power imbalance between the people who run these industries and the people who work in them.”

She added that the Ministry of Trade and Commerce and the Deputy Prime Minister were pursuing a plan to “make work pay”.

“They look very carefully at the use of things like unpaid internships that they want to discuss, self-employment, zero-hour contracts, harassment.”

Nandy also confirmed she would be meeting on Wednesday with the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA), an industry body aimed at tackling bullying and harassment in the sector.

She said she shared their view that it was “better that the industry gets to grips with this”.

“But if they don’t, I am prepared to take further action,” she said.

Nandy added that she was “quite surprised” that when she received the list of organizations that financially support CIISA, Banijay – the production company that employs Gregg Wallace and makes MasterChef – was not on the list.

“I have a rather dim view of business leaders who are not taking this seriously, and having had those conversations with CIISA I will write to the chairman to update the committee on the work we are continuing with them. “

BBC News has contacted Banijay for comment.

The company previously said it is taking the allegations surrounding Wallace “incredibly seriously” but added that it would not comment on individual allegations while the external investigation is ongoing.

It also said that MasterChef’s wellbeing processes are “regularly adapted and reinforced and there are clear protocols in place to support both crew and employees”.

Last week, Wallace apologized for suggesting that the accusations against him came from “a handful of middle-class women of a certain age”.

He concluded: “It is clear to me that I need to take some time off while this investigation is ongoing. I hope you understand and I hope you will accept this apology.”

On Friday, BBC bosses said they would not tolerate behavior that “falls within the standards we expect”.

In the message sent to staff by the corporation’s director general Tim Davie and Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s Chief Content Officer, they added that they would support Banijay UK in its investigation, adding “It is vital that every part of the BBC organization upholds our values, including where businesses work with us.”