Gregg Wallace

Gregg Allan WallaceMBE(born 17 October 1964) is an English broadcaster, entrepreneur and writer. He is known for co-presentingMasterChef,Celebrity MasterChefandMasterChef: The ProfessionalsonBBC OneandBBC Two. He has written forGood Food,NowandOlive. Wallace leftMasterChefafter allegations of sexual harassment surfaced in 2024. Wallace's lawyers said it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.
Gregg Allan Wallace was born on 17 October 1964 inPeckham,South London.At the age of eight, he was sexually assaulted by a babysitter's husband, but did not tell anybody at the time.He left school at 15 and started work as a warehouseman atCovent Garden Fruit and Veg Market. He sold vegetables at a stand in Covent Garden, before becoming a salesman. He was later told that setting up a business might be a good idea.In 1989, he started George Allan's Greengrocers, a company that grew to a turnover of £7.5 million.
In 2010, Wallace opened the restaurant Wallace & Co in the London district ofPutney, where he served as one of the directors.In 2012, he opened Gregg's Bar & Grill in a joint venture with the Bermondsey Square Hotel. In August 2013, it was reported that one of Wallace's companies, West Veg Limited, had folded, owing more than £500,000.In 2014, both of his restaurants folded, with Wallace & Co owing suppliers £150,000.
Wallace was invited to co-presentVeg TalkonBBC Radio 4with Charlie Hicks. The programme aired for seven years;Andy Kershawdescribed it as being "delivered with this fake, barrow-boy bonhomie."
Wallace was the original presenter ofSaturday Kitchenfrom 2002 until being replaced byAntony Worrall Thompsonin 2003.Wallace also presentedVeg Outfor theDiscovery Channel, andFollow That TomatoforThe Food Channel, resulting in aRoyal Television Societyaward for Best Lifestyle Programme in 2003.
In 2008 and 2009, Wallace presented two editions ofThe Money Programmeon the effect that thefinancial crisiswas having on the public's attitudes towards food.In August 2013, Wallace presentedSupermarket Secrets, aBBC Oneprogramme about supermarket food sourcing and distribution, and in September 2013, he co-presentedHarvest 2013, a three-part documentary following the progress of Britain's vegetable, cereal and fruit harvests.
In 2013, Wallace started to co-presentEat Well for Less?alongsideChris Bavinfor BBC One, and from 2015 until 2023 he co-presentedInside the Factory,alongsideCherry HealeyandRuth GoodmanforBBC Two.In 2016, Wallace was the presenter of a revived series of theBBChistorical game showTime Commanders.
In December 2019, Wallace presented aChannel 5documentary calledGregg Wallace's Magical Christmas Market, filmed inVienna, Austria.In April 2020, Channel 5 scheduled a follow-up series calledGregg Wallace's Fun Weekends, but it was pulled because it featured cities badly impacted by theCOVID-19 pandemic.The four-part travel series was finally transmitted in February 2021 asBig Weekends with Gregg Wallace(also known asGregg Wallace: Big Weekends Away) with the first episode being aboutBarcelona.
In February 2021, Wallace presented a six-partITVseries calledSouth Africa with Gregg Wallace.In the series, he visited sites such asIsandlwana, the Augrabies Falls, Durban and theOrange River.In this month it was reported thatKimberley Walshwas likely to replace Wallace as presenter ofEat Well For Less, after Wallace left the show after eight years.
In December 2021, Wallace presented two Channel 5 Christmas specials:Gregg Wallace's Grand Christmas AdventureandGregg Wallace's Magical Christmas Market.In July 2023, Wallace presentedGregg Wallace: The British Miracle Meat, amockumentarywhich depicted a British company that had developed food technology to produce genetically engineered human meat.
Between 2005 and 2024, Wallace was co-presenter and judge of BBC cooking showMasterChef,withJohn Torode.  In December 2024 Wallace was replaced by the food criticGrace Dent. In March 2018, Wallace declined to judge Zaleha Kadir Olpin's dish onMasterChef, stating that the stewedchicken rendangdish was "not crispy enough and could not be eaten".This remark caused a media and public backlash in some prominent members of theASEANcountries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei, who said that rendang is a "stewed, soft and tender dish: not intended to be crispy".
In 2007, Wallace appeared in the BBC singing contestJust the Two of Uswhere he partnered with professional singerCarol Decker. The duo were the first to be eliminated.In 2010, Wallace appeared in theBBC OneseriesTurn Back Time: The High Streetwith Tom Herbert andJuliet Gardiner.On 27 January 2012, Wallace appeared in an episode ofRoom 101on BBC One.  In August 2012, Wallace was the subject of an episode of the BBC genealogy showWho Do You Think You Are?
Wallace appeared as a guest panellist on theBBC TwoprogrammeAn Extra SliceIn 2014,a contestant in Series 7 of theITVquiz showThe Chase Celebrity Specialin 2017, a contestant onCelebrity Catchphrasein 2019, a contestant on the sixth series ofTipping Point: Lucky Starsin 2020, a contestant on the third series ofThe Chasespin off,Beat the Chasersin 2021,and a celebrity expert on the 2021 Christmas special ofThe Wheel.
In September 2014 Wallace was a contestant on thetwelfth seriesof BBC'sStrictly Come Dancing, partnered with professionalAliona Vilani. In the first week Wallace danced aCha-cha-chatoKaty Perry's "Hot n Cold". During the judges' comments, Wallace joked about the lack of success shown byCraig Revel Horwoodin a previous series ofCelebrity Masterchef. He left the show in the second week, after the first public vote, when theWaltzdanced byJennifer GibneyandTristan MacManuswas preferred by the judges to Vilani and Wallace'sCharleston.
In November 2024, it was reported that Wallace was to step away fromMasterChefwhile allegations of historical misconduct were investigated.This came after the BBC reported to Wallace's representatives that there were allegations of inappropriate sexual comments from 13 individuals. Wallace's lawyers said it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.Wallace was subsequently dropped by the charityAmbitious about Autismwhich had appointed him as an ambassador in honour of his autistic son.In August 2021, the television and radio presenterMelanie Sykeshad been a competitor on the programme, but Sykes later said that a comment from Wallace had led her to end her career in the entertainment industry.
Responding to the accusations, Wallace posted a video toInstagramsaying there had been "13 complaints" from "over 4,000 contestants" he had worked with in 20 years on the BBC showMasterChef.On 2 December 2024, Wallace apologised for suggesting that allegations against him came from "a handful of middle-class women of a certain age".On 3 December, the BBC announced that two forthcomingMasterChefspecial episodes and three repeats of an old series ofInside the Factory, had been pulled from the Christmas schedule while the allegations against Wallace were still being investigated.On 4 December 2024, allegations of sexual harassment were made by the ghostwriter of Wallace's autobiography,Life On A Plate.The former head of BBC News,Roger Mosey, stated that the allegations against Wallace were a "blow to the BBC" which has had a long-standing problem with misbehaviour by some of its presenters.
In January 2025 veteran singerRod Stewartcriticised Wallace on social media for humiliating his wifePenny Lancasteron theMasterChefprogramme. It had been revealed that formerNewsnightpresenterKirsty Warkwas among the 13 people who had accused Wallace of making inappropriate sexual comments on the show.
Wallace married his first wife, Christine, in 1991 but their marriage only lasted six weeks. He has two children with his second wife, former pastry chef Denise Lovell,whom he was married to between 1999 and 2004. Wallace later married biology teacher Heidi Brown, in 2010, his third wife who was 17 years his junior, after meeting her onTwitter. The relationship ended after 15 months.
Wallace met Anne-Marie Sterpini, 21 years his junior, also on Twitter, in 2013 and they married in August 2016.Masterchefco-hostJohn Torodeserved asbest manat the wedding atHever Castle, Kent. Sterpini gave birth to their first child in 2019. Wallace publicly expressed his fears of being an "old parent" but said that he was considering having more children.Wallace's son was diagnosed withautismin 2022.In February 2024, Wallace told theTelegraphthat having another child "isn't something that I would have chosen at my age", but did so to please his wife.
Wallace was appointedMember of the Order of the British Empire(MBE) in the2022 Birthday Honoursfor services to food and charity.Wallace has a tattoo ofMillwallon his chest. He has supported the club since childhood and took part infootball hooliganismin his youth.At one time Wallace was a rugby coach for an under-15's side in Liverpool.