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  • February 18, 2025
More TV scandals will emerge after Gregg Wallace and Gino D’Acampo allege sexual harassment, says broadcasting veteran Sandi Toksvig

More TV scandals will emerge after Gregg Wallace and Gino D’Acampo allege sexual harassment, says broadcasting veteran Sandi Toksvig

Sandi Toksvig has suggested that more scandals will emerge in the wake of Gregg Wallace and Gino D’Acampo’s sexual harassment claims.

The QI presenter and former Bake Off presenter said the entertainment industry is still sexist and favors men for high-profile show positions.

She also alleged that sexual misconduct is more widespread than what has been publicly reported.

MasterChef judge and chef Wallace was forced to leave the show after complaints about his behavior surfaced last week.

And Italian chef D’Acampo has been ‘fired’ by ITV following an accusation from a former colleague, who claims he is a victim of ‘the MasterChef effect’.

Toksvig said on the Travel Diaries podcast: ‘Lately there have been more stories of bad behavior. And you know, I know of other stories yet to come that haven’t made headlines yet, but I suspect they will at some point.

‘So I’m afraid I don’t see huge changes. I would have liked that, but I don’t see it.’

Toksvig said that apart from alleged inappropriate behavior towards women, talented women are still not given the same opportunities as their male counterparts.

More TV scandals will emerge after Gregg Wallace and Gino D’Acampo allege sexual harassment, says broadcasting veteran Sandi Toksvig

Sandi Toksvig said the entertainment industry is still sexist and favors men for high-profile show positions

A woman who worked with him for five years complained about Gino. He has also been accused of jokingly flashing and crew members of his show Emission Impossible with Fred Sirieix were reportedly offered counseling

A woman who worked with him for five years complained about Gino. He has also been accused of jokingly flashing and crew members of his show Emission Impossible with Fred Sirieix were reportedly offered counseling

Gregg Wallace has been forced to step down from his role as MasterChef presenter

Gregg Wallace has been forced to step down from his role as MasterChef presenter

Asked whether she felt progress had been made towards equality in the British entertainment industry, the 66-year-old said: ‘It hasn’t really changed. We still don’t have a late night chat show hosted by a woman.

‘I don’t know if we can’t stay up that late, it disrupts our cycle.

‘I don’t know what the problem is. It’s still rare for a woman to be in charge of a panel show. It’s not really common.’

As one of the few panel show presenters, she said people regularly ask her if she was terrified of taking over Stephen Fry’s role on QI.

She said: ‘They usually say, ‘Well, it must have been terrifying taking over from Stephen.’ And you think ‘not really’. I’ve known Stephen since I was 19.

‘I wasn’t really worried. But that’s the thing, it was almost as if I was too presumptuous to dare think that I might have read as many books as he had. So that’s still there.’

Female-led chat shows are limited and relatively short-lived.

The Sarah Millican Television program lasted only one year and was canceled in 2013, despite receiving rave reviews from critics.

As one of the few panel show presenters, Sandi said people regularly ask her if she was terrified of taking over Stephen Fry's role on QI.

As one of the few panel show presenters, Sandi said people regularly ask her if she was terrified of taking over Stephen Fry’s role on QI.

Viewers of Monday night's MasterChef: The Professionals were left stunned after under-fire judge Gregg Wallace barely appeared on screen

Viewers of Monday night’s MasterChef: The Professionals were left stunned after under-fire judge Gregg Wallace barely appeared on screen

Gino D'Acampo, pictured with Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, makes good on his promise to cook naked on This Morning if they win at the 2011 NTA Awards

Gino D’Acampo, pictured with Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, makes good on his promise to cook naked on This Morning if they win at the 2011 NTA Awards

Before that, Charlotte Church had a chat show on Channel 4 for two years from 2006, and Caroline Aherne presented The Mrs Merton Show as her comedy character in the 1990s.

Male counterparts Jonathan Ross, Graham Norton, Michael Parkinson, Alan Carr and Paul O’Grady, on the other hand, have enjoyed their shows for decades.

In the wake of the Wallace scandal, the BBC has decided to continue broadcasting the remainder of Masterchef: The Professionals, which ends on December 12, and the two Christmas editions, while they await the conclusion of the investigation by production company Banijay . .

It is understood the BBC and Banijay have been scouring the upcoming episodes of MasterChef yet to air for sexually inappropriate comments from Wallace.

A BBC spokesperson told the Mail: ‘MasterChef is life-changing for the chefs who take part and the show is about more than one person.’

Wallace, 60, announced on Thursday that he is stepping down from MasterChef after almost two decades while an investigation into his alleged misconduct is carried out.

He was last week confronted with allegations of inappropriate behavior from 13 people, including Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark, over a 17-year period across five shows from 2005 to 2022.

Wallace is accused of telling a younger female colleague he wasn’t wearing boxer shorts under his jeans, walking into the studio naked except for a sock on his penis, and simulating a sex act with a producer as she knelt to his to clean pants.

Former Bake Off presenter Sandi also claimed sexual misconduct is more widespread than what has been publicly reported

Former Bake Off presenter Sandi also claimed sexual misconduct is more widespread than what has been publicly reported

D'Acampo was quietly dropped from the foodie travel show Gordon, Gino and Fred, on which he appeared alongside Gordon Ramsay and Fred Sirieix. Pictured: the trio in Galicia, Spain in 2023

D’Acampo was quietly dropped from the foodie travel show Gordon, Gino and Fred, on which he appeared alongside Gordon Ramsay and Fred Sirieix. Pictured: the trio in Galicia, Spain in 2023

Female-led chat shows were limited and relatively short-lived – Caroline Aherne presented The Mrs Merton Show as her comedy character in the 1990s

Female-led chat shows were limited and relatively short-lived – Caroline Aherne presented The Mrs Merton Show as her comedy character in the 1990s

The latest allegations include a woman who said he groped her, another who claims he pressed his crotch against her while filming the BBC show Eat Well For Less and a third who claimed he flashed her in his dressing room .

Despite this, Wallace remains desperate to restore his reputation and the investigation’s findings are crucial if he is to continue appearing on screen.

And on ITV, D’Acampo is being ‘eased’ as bosses are terrified by the scandal that has engulfed the BBC over Wallace.

On Tuesday, D’Acampo was accused of harassment by a woman who worked with him at ITV for five years, allegedly claiming: “He said and did whatever he wanted.”

D’Acampo was convicted by the alleged victim of inappropriate behavior while on This Morning and Saturday Cooks between 2006 and 2011.

The TV chef does not yet want to comment on his future. But an insider has claimed that Gino sees himself as a ‘cheeky Italian chappy’ and there is no malice in his jokes or playful behaviour.