Why Did ’MasterChef' Christmas Specials Just Get Pulled?

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Reality TV

John Torode and Gregg Wallace for 'Masterchef' Christmas special

Longtime co-host of the BBC cooking show MasterChef, Gregg Wallace, has faced a sea of allegations that suggest that his career in broadcasting has come to a tragic end. He's been co-hosting MasterChef alongside John Torode since 2005 and has now been hit with allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior, with more than a dozen women accusing the reality television host of inappropriate behavior and making sexually inappropriate comments.

After the allegations, Wallace stepped down from presenting the show and issued two statements — the first one was privy to incessant backlash for his lack of remorse and snide tone. While BBC’s initial stance was to continue to air all episodes of MasterChef, following the external probe by BBC and Banijay UK, the network has pulled two Celebrity MasterChef specials, fronted by Wallace, from its Christmas schedule, and they will no longer be aired.

Gregg Wallace Has Been Accused of Sexual Misconduct Spanning Almost Two Decades

BBC reported on November 28, 2024, that Gregg Wallace would be stepping down from presenting MasterChef amid the investigation of almost two decades of misconduct allegations against him. The news comes after Wallace was sent a letter from the network surrounding claims from 13 individuals about inappropriate sexual remarks he had made over his 17-year stint across five shows on network television. Incidents of Wallace’s inappropriate behavior date as far back as 2005. The women who’ve stepped forward to accuse Wallace of sexual misconduct include BBC star Kirsty Wark and the ghostwriter of Gregg Wallace’s 2012 autobiography, Shannon Kyle.

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According to DailyMail UK, some of the accusations against Wallace include but aren’t limited to groping crew members, cracking inappropriate jokes, roaming around on set wearing nothing but a sock on his penis, and talking about his sex life on set. Wallace was even given a warning back in 2018 after two women raised a complaint against his behavior on the quiz show Impossible Celebrities in 2018. An HR investigation had yielded that Gregg Wallace’s behavior was inappropriate and unprofessional. From contestants to co-workers and even his co-host John Torode, who had raised concerns about the TV presenter’s behavior, which he revealed in an interview with The Sun, Wallace is encapsulated knee-deep in allegations of being inappropriate.

Gregg Wallace Vehemently Denied the Allegations

Following the allegations, Wallace’s lawyers have maintained that the narrative of their client being a sexual harasser is entirely false. Gregg Wallace then took to Instagram to respond on December 1, 2024, in a since-deleted video where he ranted about how the accusations come from “middle-class women of a certain age.” The longtime presenter also claimed in a separate video, since-deleted, that none of the people he’d worked with on his shows have ever had a bad thing to say about him.

Naturally, his cut-throat response didn’t go down well with the masses, as he was termed inappropriate and misogynistic. Former Celebrity MasterChef contestants Ulrika Jonsson, Kirstie Allsopp, and Emma Kennedy also came forward to criticize Wallace’s justification while recounting their poor experiences with the presenter, and that also adds to the claims against him.

‘Masterchef’ Christmas Specials, Therefore, Had To Be Pulled Off the Network

Hosts John Torode and Gregg Wallace for 'Masterchef' Christmas special

After facing incessant backlash, Wallace issued an apology on his Instagram story on December 2, 2024, sharing that he wasn’t in a good headspace when he made the distasteful remarks. Wallace concluded that it was evident that he needed to take time out while the investigation took place. Subsequent to all the events, BBC announced on December 3, 2024, that it would be pulling two celebrity Christmas specials. One of the specials, A Celebrity MasterChef Christmas Cook Off, featured "The Wanted" singer Max George, Emmerdale actor Amy Walsh, reality TV star Luca Bish, and comedian Shazia Mirza and the other special MasterChef Meets Strictly Festive Extravaganza was supposed to feature Amy Dowden, Gorka Marquez, Kai Widdrington and Nancy Xu, with Motsi Mabuse setting a challenge.

A spokesperson for BBC had previously stated that MasterChef is a life-changing platform for contestants, and therefore, MasterChef: The Professionals will continue airing as planned. Since the celebrity Christmas specials are of a different nature, given the current atmosphere with Wallace’s allegations, the network decided not to broadcast them. Even three reruns of an old series presented by Wallace, Inside the Factory, will no longer air on BBC Two. The content on BBC iPlayer is expected to remain unchanged. BBC has already enlisted Strictly Come Dancing star and food critic Grace Dent as a replacement for Wallace, as exclusively reported by The Sun on December 14, 2024 — but BBC is yet to make an official announcement. The probe surrounding the allegations against Wallace remains ongoing.

MasterChef: The Professionals Series 17 finale aired on BBC One on December 12, 2024. You can stream the episode and all previous seasons of the show on BBC iPlayer.