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The BBC was warned of Gregg Wallace’s alleged behaviour on his Masterchef programme as far back as 2017, it has been claimed.
Director and producer Dawn Elrick also said she sent a letter to the corporation in 2022 with a number of anonymous accounts from people who alleged they “have experienced sexism within the TV industry”.
This included the presenter allegedly making lewd comments and asking for personal phone numbers of femal production staff, it has been claimed.
The emergence of the letter, shared in a post on Instagram by Ms Elrick, came as a report was published by the The Times claiming the BBC received a complaint over comments made by Wallace in 2017.
It was reportedly sent in an email by broadcaster Aasmah Mir after she appeared on the 12th series of Celebrity Masterchef.
On Thursday, it was announced that Wallace was to step away from the BBC cooking show while historical misconduct complaints were externally reviewed by MasterChef producers Banijay UK.
The 60-year-old faces allegations of inappropriate sexual comments from 13 people across a range of shows over a 17-year period.
In an video posted on social media, Wallace said accusations about him making sexual comments towards staff and guests have come 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 have worked with over 4,000 contestants of all different ages, all different backgrounds, all walks of life.
“Apparently now, I’m reading in the paper, there’s been 13 complaints in that time.
“I can see the complaints coming from a handful of middle-class women of a certain age, just from Celebrity MasterChef. This isn’t right.
“In 20 years, over 20 years of television, can you imagine how many women, female contestants on MasterChef, have made sexual remarks, or sexual innuendo? Can you imagine?”
Wallace’s lawyers say “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.
In the letter Ms Elrick claimed to have sent to the BBC in 2022, she wrote: “I have noticed a pattern of behaviour from one person whose name has been mentioned half a dozen times.
“In connection with lude [sic] comments being made to female production members, female production being made to feel uncomfortable about being asked for their personal numbers, being made to talk to the talent whilst the talent is topless and general unease in his company.
“Gregg Wallace is the name attached to these experiences. Additionally, it has been reported to us that these behaviours are not reserved for production staff.”
Ms Elrick added: “We do not need to stress how difficult/stressful/upsetting it is for women in production to be placed in a position where high profile talent use their clout to make deeply uncomfortable remarks.
“Although these are not, as stressed above, not official complaints, it is the number that have come forward about this one person that has prompted this letter.”
Speaking to The Observer, Ms Elrick said the BBC suggested each individual would have to make their own, direct complaint to the corporation.
Separately, The Times has reported on Mir complaining about comments made by Wallace during filming of the show’s 12th series in 2017, in an email that was forwarded to Kate Phillips, who now manages unscripted programmes for the BBC.
“Should anything happen in the future, I don’t want to feel guilty when people say ‘why wasn’t anything said before?’, or for producers or editors to claim they didn’t know,” the email reportedly read. She also wrote: “This must not happen again to another woman.”
In internal emails seen by The Times, Ms Phillips said she would ensure that she was “informed straight away” should more complaints be made against Wallace.
A BBC spokesperson told The Independent: “We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them. We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.
“Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them.
“It would be inappropriate for us to comment on anything that could form part of Banijay’s ongoing investigation or otherwise influence it.”
Wallace took to Instagram on Saturday evening with a cryptic post which read: “We are all different.”
A statement about the historical allegations from Banijay UK read: “While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully cooperating throughout the process.
“Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.”
