MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace has apologised for suggesting allegations against him came from “a handful of middle-class women of a certain age”.
“I want to apologise for any offence that I caused with my post yesterday, and any upset I may have caused to a lot of people,” he said in a video posted on Instagram.
“I wasn’t in a good head space when I posted it. I’ve been under a huge amount of stress, a lot of emotion, I felt very alone, under siege, yesterday, when I posted it.
“It’s obvious to me I need to take some time out while this investigation is under way. I hope you understand and I do hope that you will accept this apology.”
Wallace’s apology came after an earlier video, uploaded on Sunday, in which he said there had been “13 complaints” from “over 4,000 contestants” he had worked with in 20 years on the BBC show MasterChef.
One of his accusers said the comments showed he “clearly hasn’t learnt his lesson”, while another said he wrongly “seems to be saying he’s the victim of classism”.
Wallace stepped back from MasterChef last week after allegations were made that he had made inappropriate comments while working on the show.
A BBC investigation heard from 13 people spanning a range of ages, who worked across five different shows.
Wallace has denied behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.
MasterChef is due to continue on BBC One at 21:00 GMT on Monday, with further episodes scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday.
However, MP Rupa Huq has suggested the BBC consider pausing the series while Wallace’s behaviour is investigated.
This article was originally published at www.bbc.com
