Sir Rod Stewart claims Gregg Wallace ‘humiliated’ wife Penny Lancaster on ‘Celebrity MasterChef’

Rod Stewart has slammed Gregg Wallace for allegedly humiliating his wife Penny Lancaster while filming Celebrity MasterChef in 2021.

The allegation comes after it was announced on Thursday that Wallace had resigned from hosting the hit BBC cooking show while complaints of historic misconduct are handled externally by the show’s production company, Banijay UK.

BBC News reported that the 60-year-old faced allegations from 13 people appearing on various programs over 17 years, including former Newsnight host Kirsty Wark.

Wark told the BBC that Wallace twice told contestants and crew stories and jokes of a “sexual nature” and felt they were “really, really in the wrong place.”

BBC News says it was told about other allegations, including the presenter “talking openly about his sex life, taking off his top in front of a staff member, saying he wanted to ‘organize her a fashion show’ and telling a younger colleague he wasn’t wearing boxer shorts under his jeans.” .

The TV star’s lawyers claim that “it is completely untrue that he engages in sexual harassment,” BBC News reports.

Following reports of complaints made against Wallace, Sir Rod shared a post on Instagram in which he called the TV presenter an “unmannered tyrant”.

The singer wrote: “So Gregg Wallace is fired from MasterChef. Get rid of Wallace.

“You humiliated my wife when she was on the celebrity version of the show, but you cut that part out, right?

“You are a chubby, bald and ill-mannered tyrant. Karma got you. Sir Rod Stewart.

In an Instagram post on Thursday evening, Wallace thanked his followers, writing: “I would like to thank all the people who reach out to us, reach out and show their support.

“That’s nice of you, thank you very much.”

Banijay UK said in a statement on Thursday: “This week the BBC received complaints from individuals following historic allegations of misconduct while working with presenter Gregg Wallace on one of our programs.

“While these complainants have not reported the allegations directly to our program producers or parent company Banijay UK, we believe it is appropriate to conduct an immediate external review to fully and impartially investigate the matter.

“While this review is ongoing, Gregg Wallace will be stepping down from his role on MasterChef and committing to his full cooperation throughout the process.

“Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations of behavior are clear for both cast and crew on all productions, and multiple ways to report concerns, including anonymously, are clearly promoted on set.

“While these are historical allegations, instances reported to us where these expectations were not met are thoroughly investigated and responded to appropriately.”

The statement added: “If anyone would like to speak to us or report any issues or concerns, they can contact us at [email protected] in confidence.”

A BBC spokesman said: “We take any issues brought to our attention seriously and have robust processes in place to deal with them.

“We always make it clear that any behavior below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.

“Where an individual is employed directly by an external production company, we share any complaints or concerns with them and will always support them in resolving them.”

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