Former Celebrity MasterChef star Aggie Mackenzie told Susanna Reid and Ed Balls she “can’t listen” to Gregg Wallace’s voice now as she detailed his “worst crime”.
Aggie, who took part in the show in 2011, sat down with Susanna and Ed on Monday’s Good Morning Britain to address the allegations and share her own experience.
Kicking off the chat, Susanna began: “So morning to both of you. So Aggie, back in 2011 you were on MasterChef, the same year and series as Kirsty Wark.
“She said that there had been s3xualised jokes she alleged during the filming of that show. Said the comments were really, really in the wrong place and made people uncomfortable. Did you witness the same stuff?”
Aggie nodded as she replied: “Yes, I agree with everything Kirsty says. Those jokes weren’t actually directed at me, but the jokes were always smutty, they were endless.
“It was as if Gregg was some sort of dinosaur. He just can’t read the room and seemed to be allowed to carry on in this way, and I actually can’t listen to his voice, and it just kind of triggers something in me. It’s horrible.”
Aggie Mackenzie appeared on Monday’s Good Morning Britain
Susanna went on to reference Gregg’s recent statement and asked: “Do you consider yourself… I mean, one of those people that Gregg is now taking aim at, a woman of a certain age?”
Aggie explained: “Oh, again, this illustrates how he just has no insight or understanding of how he behaves. He just doesn’t get it. He’s been allowed to carry on in his own sweet way for many, many years.
“He could have remedied his behaviour, but I don’t think he was actually capable of doing that.”
Ed interjected: “He’s partly saying it’s your problem and all these middle-aged women and 10 years ago, it was okay to tell the kind of jokes.”
“No, not funny at all. I think, as far as I could see, his worst crime was being really, really boring, and having to listen to all this stuff, this nonsense.,” she added.
Ed Balls and Susanna Reid
“He didn’t know how to hold a conversation, and so he had to fill up the space with nonsense. I don’t think he knew how to talk to anybody actually.”
The allegations made against Gregg include the presenter “talking openly about his s3x life, taking his top off in front of a female worker saying he wanted to “give her a fashion show,” and telling a junior female colleague he was not wearing any boxer shorts under his jeans.”
The statement announcing the investigation read: “This week the BBC received complaints from individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with presenter Gregg Wallace on one of our shows. Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate. While this review is underway, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully cooperating throughout the process.
“Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set. Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.”
Gregg Wallace released a statement over the weekendDon’t Miss
The BBC has said it takes any issues raised with it “seriously” after it was announced that Gregg would step away from his role on MasterChef while the corporation investigated complaints made to it by individuals about historical allegations of misconduct.
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.”
Gregg also broke his silence over the weekend when he released a video statement on social media.
The TV presenter told his followers: “I think in that time I have worked with over 4,000 contestants of all different ages, all different backgrounds, all walks of life, and apparently now, I’m reading in the paper, there’s been 13 complaints in that time.
“Now, in the newspaper, I can see the complaints coming from a handful of middle-class women of a certain age — just from Celebrity MasterChef. This isn’t right.”
He added in another clip: “Look, this is important to me. 20 years … do you know how many staff, all different sorts of staff, do you know how many staff complained about me in that time? Absolutely none. Zero. Seriously.”
