BBC warned of Gregg Wallace’s alleged inappropriate behavior ‘as early as 2017’

The BBC was warned about Gregg Wallace’s alleged behavior on its program Masterchef as early as 2017, it has been claimed.

Director and producer Dawn Elrick also said she sent a letter to the company in 2022 containing a number of anonymous testimonies from people claiming to have “experienced sexism within the television industry.”

This included the presenter allegedly making lewd comments and asking for the home phone numbers of female production staff, it was claimed.

The emergence of the letter, shared in an Instagram post by Ms Elrick, came as a report was released by the The times claiming the BBC had received a complaint about comments Wallace made in 2017.

It was allegedly emailed by TV channel Aasmah Mir after his appearance in the 12th series of Celebrity chef.

On Thursday, it was announced that Wallace would step down from the BBC cooking show while historic complaints of misconduct were examined externally by Chef producers Banijay UK.

The 60-year-old faces allegations of inappropriate sexual comments from 13 people on various shows over a 17-year period.

In a video posted to social media, Wallace said accusations that he made sexual comments toward staff and guests came from “middle-class women of a certain age.”

He said: “I’ve been doing MasterChef for 20 years, amateur, celebrity and professional MasterChef, and I think in that time I’ve worked with over 4,000 contestants of all ages, backgrounds and backgrounds. horizons.

“Apparently I read in the paper that there were 13 complaints during this period.

“I can see the complaints coming from a handful of middle-class women of a certain age on Celebrity MasterChef alone. It’s not good.

“In 20 years, in 20 years of television, can you imagine how many women, MasterChef candidates, have made comments or insinuations of a sexual nature? Can you imagine?

Wallace’s lawyers say “it is completely false that he engaged in conduct of a sexually harassing nature.”

In the letter Ms Elrick claimed to have sent to the BBC in 2022, she wrote: “I have noticed behavior from a person whose name has been mentioned half a dozen times.

“Regarding the lude (sic) comments made to female production members, female production feels uncomfortable being asked for their personal numbers, they are forced to speak to the talent while the talent is topless and a general malaise in his company.

“Gregg Wallace is the name attached to these experiences. Furthermore, it was reported to us that these behaviors are not reserved for production staff.

Ms. Elrick added: “We don’t need to emphasize how difficult/stressful/upsetting it is for women in production to be put in a position where high-profile talent uses their influence to make remarks deeply uncomfortable.

“While these are not, as we noted above, formal complaints, it is the number of complaints filed against this single individual that prompted this letter.”

Talk to The observerMs Elrick said the BBC suggested each individual should make their own direct complaint to the corporation.

Separately, The times reported that Mir complained about comments made by Wallace during the filming of the 12th series of the show in 2017, in an email that was forwarded to Kate Phillips, who now manages unscripted programming for the BBC.

“If something were to happen in the future, I don’t want to feel guilty when people say ‘why wasn’t anything said before?’, or when producers or editors pretend they didn’t know,” would have read the email. She also wrote: “This must not happen to another woman again. »

In internal emails seen by The timesMs Phillips said she would ensure she was “immediately informed” if further complaints were made against Wallace.

A BBC spokesperson said The Independent: “We take all issues reported to us seriously and have robust processes in place to resolve them. We are always clear that any behavior that does not meet the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.

“When someone is hired directly by an external production company, we share any complaints or concerns with that company and will always support them when responding to them.

“It would be inappropriate for us to comment on anything that could be part of or otherwise influence Banijay’s ongoing investigation. »

Wallace took to Instagram on Saturday evening with a cryptic message that read: “We are all different. »

A statement regarding the historic allegations from Banijay UK read: “While this review is ongoing, Gregg Wallace will step aside from his role in Chef and is committed to fully cooperating throughout the process.

“While these are historical allegations, incidents brought to our attention in which these expectations are not met are thoroughly investigated and handled appropriately. »