‘Won’t go quietly’: Sacked MasterChef host flags discrimination lawsuit

Gregg Wallace is planning to sue the BBC and the makers of MasterChef UK for discrimination on the grounds of his autism after being sacked from the television show.

A report into the presenter’s conduct on set is expected to find him guilty of inappropriate behaviour over several years. He denies more serious allegations of groping.

Gregg Wallace (right) with MasterChef UK co-host John Torode.

Wallace claims that his comments were simply “banter” and that his autism, which was formally diagnosed only recently, led him to misread social situations.

“Gregg is guilty of bad jokes and rough humour. But so many people on the show talked openly about suspecting that he had autism for years before he got his diagnosis,” said one source.

“To sack him now when they were well aware of his condition is outrageous. He’s going to take them to the cleaners.”

In a statement published earlier this week on social media, Wallace said the MasterChef set had been a “dangerous environment” for him.

He also criticised the BBC and Banijay, the show’s production company, for failing to provide adequate protection for him given his condition.

The presenter is expected to receive a letter on Thursday morning informing him that his contract has been terminated.

Publication of the report will leave the BBC with another headache over what to do with a series of MasterChef that has not yet been broadcast.

It was recorded in 2024 and scheduled to air in February of this year, but the plans were suspended when the allegations against Wallace first surfaced.

He appears in every episode except the series finale, which was filmed after he had stepped away from the show. Another judge, chef Anna Haugh, stood in as his replacement.

Wallace ‘will not go quietly’

The show can be life-changing for its amateur contestants who dream of opening their own restaurants – an opportunity that could be denied to some of them if the BBC decides not to air the series featuring Wallace.

“An announcement about the series will be made once the report has been published. Everyone involved, and the contestants most of all, think it should go out. It will be so sad for them if it doesn’t. A decision has to be made,” another source said.

Wallace has warned that he “will not go quietly” and insisted he was being hung out to dry.

Friends of the former greengrocer said he was the victim of “woke” culture, claiming that middle-class executives who hired him for his “cheeky” working-class humour had turned against him now that sensibilities had changed.

The report into Wallace’s behaviour was commissioned by Banijay and conducted by Lewis Silkin, a law firm.

Patrick Holland, Banijay’s chief executive and a former BBC Two controller, said he had full confidence in the report.

“It has been a huge, in-depth piece of work from Lewis Silkin, taking several months, and we have spoken to many, many witnesses,” he said.

While he declined to comment on its contents ahead of publication, Holland added: “One thing I can say is that the culture of television has changed dramatically in the last 20 years.

“Whilst we can never be complacent, there are now myriad ways for those who experience bad behaviour in the workplace to speak out, whether anonymously, via a hotline or to dedicated welfare officers.

“We need to do all we can to ensure that everyone on a production, from the most junior roles, feels confident to call out bad behaviour.”

The Telegraph, London