Tim Davie could be forgiven for wanting to wind down for the summer holidays, but he must surely have had sleepless nights in recent weeks as he has been forced to grapple with one scandal after another.
After all, it has been a tumultuous year for the steely BBC director general who has dealt with Huw Edwards’s fall from grace, multiple Strictly scandals, The One Show’s Jermaine Jenas’s sexting fiasco, a disastrous Glastonbury set from Bob Vylan, and now… Gregg Wallace.
‘It has been one thing after another for the BBC,’ one insider tells me. ‘Male star after male star have let the BBC down as they have repeatedly got themselves into trouble and brought the corporation into disrepute.’
‘These things weigh heavily on Tim. He has been scarred by what happened with Huw Edwards (the once-revered BBC news anchorman, convicted for making indecent images of children), and wants to show that the BBC has learnt from the mistakes of the past. He is determined to weed out those who think they are untouchable.’
That would explain the harsh words used by Claire Powell, head of compliance for BBC Television, who after seeing the report commissioned by MasterChef producers Banijay, wrote to Gregg Wallace, 60, dismissing him and telling him, in no uncertain terms, that there was no way back for him after multiple complaints of inappropriate behaviour, ranging from sexualised language to groping – all of which he vehemently denies.
MasterChef co-host Gregg Wallace has been dismissed from the show after multiple complaints of inappropriate behaviour, ranging from sexualised language to groping – all of which he vehemently denies
She said: ‘I do not have the confidence that you can change what seems to be learned behaviour for you to make what you perceive to be jokes in the work environment, without understanding the boundaries of what is appropriate.
‘You acknowledge some of your comments have offended or upset people. But it is clear that you struggle to distinguish the boundaries between appropriate and inappropriate behaviour in the workplace, as well as lacking an awareness of why your behaviour impacts others.
‘I do not have confidence that your behaviour can change.’
The former greengrocer decided to go all guns blazing and, in advance of the publication of the report, wrote an irate statement on Instagram, where he insisted he was cleared of the most serious allegations and warned the corporation: ‘I will not go quietly. I will not be cancelled for convenience.’
Some have sympathised with Wallace and raised a suspicious eyebrow at the severity and swiftness of the BBC’s ban, with one insider suggesting there may be an ulterior motive.
They told me: ‘It is rather convenient for them to deal harshly with Gregg and move on quickly as it removes scrutiny away from his co-presenter John Torode.
‘He was by Gregg’s side for 20 years and, while he may not have been present for the most serious allegations, the question surely needs to be asked: “What did John know?”
‘John was there when Gregg was making some of these lewd and sexualised jokes on the MasterChef set. Why did he not speak out?’
Torode, who has remained largely silent since 13 people first came forward to complain about Wallace last November, is seen as a vital to the future of the show.
He and his wife, actress Lisa Faulkner, whom he met on the set of Celebrity MasterChef in 2010 when she was a contestant and he was a judge, are regarded as the ‘golden couple’ of the cookery scene, and the corporation is desperate to keep him happy.
His departure, in any capacity, would be a disaster for MasterChef, I’m told.
If John was to walk, ‘it would simply be the end of the programme’, one insider told me,
John Torode (right) co-hosted MasterChef with Gregg Wallace (left) for almost 20 years. He claimed he was too busy filming the finale of the amateur series of MasterChef to comment when the scandal first broke last year
Torode was best man at Wallace’s 2016 wedding to Anne-Marie Sterpini (pictured), yet the pair haven’t spoken since Wallace stood down last year
They point to the demise of Top Gear which, following the sacking of Jeremy Clarkson in 2015 (for assaulting a producer when his dinner didn’t arrive after a day’s filming), and then the departure of sidekicks James May and Richard Hammond, was relaunched with a completely new set of faces, and flopped catastrophically.
After disastrous ratings, the BBC finally axed the once popular show in 2022.
MasterChef is a hugely lucrative brand which brings in millions through its merchandise empire which includes aprons, chopping boards and even the expensive knives used on the show. So it is little wonder that Banijay and the BBC are desperate to save it.
Following Wallace stepping back from the cookery competition in November, the food critic Grace Dent stepped into Wallace’s shoes to judge alongside Torode for Celebrity MasterChef 2025, which will air in the autumn.
But sources say that producers are ‘not sold’ on Dent being a permanent replacement for Wallace: ‘She’s not as warm and engaging,’ said one source. ‘There are concerns about how she will go down with the public.’ Which has given them even greater impetus to protect Torode.
The 59-year-old n chef was best man at Wallace’s 2016 wedding to Anne-Marie Sterpini, yet I’m told the pair haven’t spoken since Wallace stood down last year.
‘John has turned his back on Gregg and doesn’t want anything to do with him. It has left Gregg furious,’ a friend of the disgraced star tells me.
When the scandal first broke last year, Torode did not speak out for weeks; he claimed he had been too busy filming the finale of the amateur series of MasterChef, which Wallace was forced to step back from.
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When the silence became deafening, he finally broke cover on Instagram to say: ‘During the last few days, I’ve been trying to make the best cookery programme, so being busy making the show and caring for our contestants has allowed me little time to think about anything else, but that has been hard.
‘The thought of anyone who has appeared on our show not having a brilliant experience is awful to hear, and I have found the recent press reports truly upsetting.’
Eight months later, there was more upset for Torode, and for Tim Davie.
On Tuesday’s BBC News, which is editorially independent from BBC management, published a story revealing 50 more people have approached the BBC with fresh claims about the TV presenter – including allegations he groped one MasterChef worker and pulled his trousers down in front of another – all of which Wallace vigorously denied.
What made these fresh allegations particularly galling for the corporation is that the complaints were not just from disgruntled workers on on the show, which is made by an external production company, but across multiple BBC programmes including Saturday Kitchen, which was made in-house at the time of one of the allegations.
For months the BBC have refused calls to hold its own investigation into Wallace, instead passing the buck onto Banijay.
‘This is so much bigger than MasterChef,’ said one BBC source. ‘Top brass thought the report and their swift action against Gregg could move things on quickly, but they can’t be seen to ignore these new complaints.’
Indeed, I’m told there have been top level discussions at the corporation, in light of the new allegations, about what to do next.
‘This is all leading in one direction and that is the BBC launching its own full scale inquiry into Wallace,’ they added.
It is not the only headache Davie is facing. In Wallace’s bitter riposte against the BBC, he makes reference to his autism diagnosis, and accuses them of failing to ‘protect me from what I now realise was a dangerous environment for over 20 years’.
Food critic Grace Dent (pictured with Torode) has replaced Wallace for Celebrity MasterChef 2025, which will air in the autumn. But sources say that producers are ‘not sold’ on Dent being a permanent replacement. ‘She’s not as warm and engaging,’ said one source
In her dismissal letter, Powell even makes reference to his neurodiversity and accepts his condition, and goes on to say he ‘struggles to distinguish the boundaries between appropriate and inappropriate behaviour’.
Friends of Wallace say this a ‘clear case of discrimination’ against the presenter and his recognised disability, and that he now intends to sue.
‘The BBC clearly didn’t know how to deal with a disabled person and have washed their hands of him. It is an outrage,’ said the friend.
Wallace is deadly serious: he has hired Dan Morrison, one of the UK’s top litigation lawyers who represented Nigel Farage during his debanking dispute with NatWest, after the bank closed his account at Coutts (which it owns) in 2023, and successfully defended footballer John Terry when he was accused of racially abusing a fellow player in 2011.
His firm’s profile page states: ‘Dan has recovered billions of pounds for his clients over 25 years of legal practice. He is known for his aggressive approach to litigation and his ability to negotiate favourable settlements for his clients.’
The friend added: ‘Gregg is going to fight this with everything he’s got. He’s got nothing to lose.’
But the BBC are confident they can win the fight. Wallace received his first warning after a complaint was raised about him in 2018 on the show Impossible Celebrities for which he apologised.
He was told at a subsequent meeting that he had to change his behaviour and had training, but there were further MasterChef complaints and he was given a dressing down by Kate Phillips, who was then controller of entertainment and is now the BBC’s chief content officer.
She reportedly told Wallace his behaviour had been ‘unacceptable and cannot continue’.
It’s not the only legal action the BBC might face, as they mull over what to do with the series of MasterChef they filmed with Wallace front and centre last autumn.
Banijay have delivered the full series to the BBC, but they were waiting for the report before they made their decision as to whether to broadcast it.
‘It’s an absolute mess,’ one insider told me. ‘They have taken decisive action on Gregg, but they just don’t know what to do with the next series.’
Torode met his wife, actress Lisa Faulkner, on the set of Celebrity MasterChef in 2010 when she was a contestant and he was a judge. They are regarded as the ‘golden couple’ of the cookery scene, and the BBC is desperate to keep him happy
BBC director general Tim Davie has had to deal with one scandal after another. An insider said: ‘Male star after male star have let the BBC down as they have repeatedly got themselves into trouble and brought the corporation into disrepute’
If bosses scrap the whole thing they would have wasted millions of pounds, tons of effort, and even face the prospect of contestants, who are out of pocket after taking time away from work to film the series, suing the BBC.
The favoured option was to host the new series on BBC iPlayer, thus allowing viewers to choose if they want to watch, knowing full well that it was hosted by Wallace, but the fresh complaints have ‘complicated matters’.
Defending himself earlier this week, Wallace recognised ‘that some of my humour and language, at times, was inappropriate’, for which he apologised ‘without reservation’.
A BBC spokesperson told : ‘Banijay UK instructed the law firm Lewis Silkin to run an investigation into allegations against Gregg Wallace.’
‘We are not going to comment until the investigation is complete and the findings are published.’
Back in December, Torode was keen to stress his commitment to the show, saying: ‘I love my job, and I love MasterChef. I love being part of it and will continue to be part of it.’
With MasterChef on such shaky ground, the future doesn’t seem so certain.