Nothing surprises about what was cooking up in Masterchef kitchen

A series of allegations have been made against MasterChef judge Gregg Wallace

A week ago, there was a trickle of allegations and complaints being made against the MasterChef presenter. This became a flood over last weekend, and has now turned into a veritable tsunami.

While the initial accusations all related to sexualised language, there later came claims of abusive behaviour on set. And, as a middle-class man of a certain age, I am not at all surprised. I always suspected the guy was a wrong ‘un. I could never fathom how someone with so few visible skills, no discernible talent and a less than likeable personality was able to reach such heights without throwing his weight around and being generally abusive.

There have been allegations about him for over a decade, ignored by the BBC. I’d never had the guy pinned as a rocket scientist, but I thought he maybe had some innate street smarts to him. Quite the opposite, it would appear, from the mounting allegations. All the evidence so far points to him being incredibly dim. Not only was his alleged studio banter the kind of daft juvenile nonsense most of us grow out of when we leave school, his “apology” suggested he clearly is pretty thick.

But great entertainment nonetheless. His self-filmed Instagram post where he claimed to be the victim of a “handful of middle-class women of a certain age” was one of my TV highlights of 2024. As the week has gone on, women of many certain different ages and social classes have come forward, including the 35-year-old ghostwriter of his autobiography, who claims he sexually harassed her.

I know. Gregg Wallace didn’t actually write Life On A Plate himself, yet trousered most of the cash. The man truly is beyond the pale.

The crassness of Wallace’s behaviour is utterly jaw-dropping. Who would think for one minute that Kirsty Wark, of all people, would be up for a bit of nudge-nudge and sexualised banter?

Does he imagine that as soon as the cameras stop rolling on Newsnight, she starts trading innuendo with the floor manager and the cabinet minister she’s just finished interviewing?

We all know now how this scenario is likely to play out. Having already binned the Christmas specials, the BBC will eventually sack Gregg Wallace who will then be given a huge fat contract by GB News. And he can then rant about feminist conspiracies to his heart’s content, while not wearing any underpants. The irony in all of this is that the guy probably owes his career to his popularity among middle-class women of a certain age.

Talk about p***ing on your own chips. Which may, or may not, be something he suggested in the MasterChef kitchen. Nothing would surprise me.