Former MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace was dismissed by the BBC and production company Banijay in July 2025 after an independent investigation upheld 45 of 83 allegations of workplace misconduct against him. The findings ended a 20-year tenure on one of Britain's most beloved television institutions.
Wallace, 61, had co-presented the BBC's flagship cooking competition alongside chef John Torode since 2005, becoming famous for his enthusiastic tasting catchphrases and everyman persona. In November 2024 he stepped aside from the show after historical allegations about his behaviour began to surface in the press.
The BBC and Banijay commissioned an independent law firm to investigate. The review, whose executive summary was published in July 2025, examined 83 allegations spanning the period from 2005 to 2024, most of them dating between 2005 and 2018. It upheld 45 of them. The majority related to inappropriate sexual language and humour, alongside a smaller number involving other inappropriate language, being in a state of undress, and one instance of unwelcome physical contact.
Among the claims reported during the investigation were allegations that Wallace had exposed himself in front of a member of the production team and groped a colleague, with eleven women said to have made specific claims of inappropriate sexual behaviour. Wallace strenuously denied the most serious allegations.
The fallout engulfed his co-host too. The same review substantiated allegations against two other individuals, and Torode subsequently confirmed that one of the complaints was against him, relating to the alleged use of racial language on a single occasion. Torode said he had no recollection of the incident and did not believe it had happened, but he also left the programme. MasterChef: The Professionals judge Monica Galetti later revealed she had cut ties with both men.
Wallace initially issued an apology, saying he was deeply sorry for any distress caused and that he had never set out to harm or humiliate anyone. He then turned on his former employers, posting videos on Instagram accusing the BBC and Banijay of making him a scapegoat and of shielding others implicated in the unpublished full 200-page report. He claimed he had been cleared of the most serious and sensational accusations.
In a further twist, Wallace brought a legal claim against the BBC and BBC Studios for up to £10,000, alleging failures over the disclosure of his personal data that had caused him distress and harassment. He discontinued the claim in February 2026 shortly before a preliminary hearing, with the BBC confirming he would receive no payment in costs or damages.
Stripped of his television income, Wallace has spoken openly about his changed circumstances. He put his £1 million mansion on the market and began selling personalised video messages on the Cameo website to pay the bills, insisting he wanted a lifestyle that was easily affordable now that the pressure of television fame was gone. In October 2026 he shared photographs from his daughter Libby's countryside wedding, a rare moment of celebration in the wreckage of a career that once made him one of the most recognisable faces on British television.