Sir Rod Stewart has hit out at “bully” Gregg Wallace for allegedly “humiliating” his wife when she was on MasterChef.
The musician’s claims arrive after it was announced Wallace had stepped down from the BBC cookery competition following allegations of inappropriate sexual comments over several years.
In the wake of the news that the BBC was investigating Wallace’s behaviour, Stewart shared a post in which he claimed the host treated Penny Lancaster in a nasty manner when she was on the show in 2021.
He wrote: “So Gregg Wallace gets fired from Masterchef. Good riddance Wallace.
“You humiliated my wife when she was on the celebrity version of the show, but you had that bit cut out didn’t you?
“You’re a tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully. Karma got ya. Sir Rod Stewart.”
While Wallace, 60, has not addressed the scandal directly, he thanked his fans who have been :showing their support” in a video shared on Instagram. He said: “That’s good of you, thank you very much.”
BBC News has said that the allegations of inappropriate sexual comments have come from 13 people across a range of shows over a 17-year period.
Another star who has accused Wallace of inappropriate comments is former BBC Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark, who said Wallace told “sexualised” jokes during filming of a Celebrity Masterchef episode in 2011.
“There were two occasions in particular where he used sexualised language in front of a number of people and it wasn’t as if anyone engaged with this,” she said.
“It was completely one-way traffic. But I think people were uncomfortable and something that I really did not expect to happen.”
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Banijay UK, the production company behind Masterchef, has launched an investigation and said that Wallace is cooperating. The company said in a statement: “Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them. We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.
“Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them.”