Gregg Wallace steps back from Masterchef amid investigation - TV star's net worth, family and career

Gregg Wallace, one of the two popular presenters of BBC’s cooking competition MasterChef, has announced he is stepping away from the show as an investigation into historical misconduct has been launched.

The show’s production company Banijay UK said in a statement: “This week the BBC received complaints from individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with presenter Gregg Wallace on one of our shows. Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate.

“While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process. Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set.

“Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately. If anyone would like to talk to us or raise any issues or concerns, then they can contact [email protected] in confidence.”

The BBC also commented on the situation, with a spokesperson adding: “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.”

Wallace, 60, has judged the popular BBC cooking competition show alongside chef John Torode since 2005.

What has been said about the allegations?

While the exact nature of the allegations have not been revealed by the BBC, Wallace has found himself in hot water before. In October, it was revealed that Wallace had been probed by the BBC over alleged “inappropriate” comments made towards a female staffer at the broadcaster.

The Sun reported that the Masterchef judge allegedly took his top off and bragged about his bedroom activities to the staff member while filming Impossible Celebrities in 2018. Wallace spoke out after the reports emerged, taking to social media to say that his “comments were found to be not sexual” adding: "I don't want anybody to misunderstand this and make it look like I was flirting with somebody. Nobody accused me of that and I never have."

Previous to this, the former Inside The Factory host was at the centre of allegations first reported by The Times, in which he is said to have spoken “in a derogatory manner” toward female staff members while filming the BBC 2 documentary show. It was also alleged that he had been “rude towards staff” of the Nestle factory the show was filming in at the time.

From here onwards, Wallace was reportedly told to “moderate” his behaviour, with the host quitting the show shortly after. He said: “I don’t want to discuss the issue but it wasn’t what the papers said it was. There was nothing offensive to anybody, that’s just people guessing. It was a decent time to come out.”

Who is Gregg Wallace married to?

Wallace married Anne-Marie Sterpini. At 21 years his junior, Sterpini gave birth to the couple’s first child in 2019, with Wallace expressing his concern in the press about become an “old parent”. He told The Telegraph in 2024: “I’m a much better father now I’m older, although another child isn’t something that I would have chosen at my age.

“I was always very honest with Anna [his wife], but it’s what she wanted and I love her.”

Their son, Sid, was diagnosed with autism in 2022 and is non-verbal. He received backlash for the same Telegraph interview, after he revealed a typical day saw him spending an hour-and-a-half with Sid before settling down to play two hours of a strategy computer game.

Wallace called the backlash “cruel” and “nasty”, adding: “There are two things I want to address here with Sid. People said ‘So you spend an hour and a half with your son, but then spend two hours on your computer.’ No. I’m with my son in the house all the time.

“I just didn’t write down ‘Had a tickle with Sid, playing around the living room.’ You’re not logging every minute of the day. I just logged the blocks.

“So it didn’t mean that’s all I saw [of] him that day. If you’re living in a house with someone, you’re interacting with them all the time. Not only that – that is a snapshot of one Saturday. And the other thing as well – and I’m almost going to cry over this – people saying that Sid was unwanted. It took us two years to conceive with Sid. Two years.”

How much is Gregg Wallace worth?

According to The Sun, Wallace is worth an estimated £5 million. His fortune has been built on the back of his work on Masterchef, as well as spin off shows such as Masterchef: The Professionals, and other television work such as his previous stint on Inside The Factory.

Wallace also launched his business, George Allan's Greengrocers, in 1989. The business eventually grew into a multi-million pound operation, turning over £7.5m.