Jackie Kearney, who’s now a chef and recipe e-book writer, completed fourth within the BBC cooking present in 2011, and later returned as a visitor decide.
She mentioned she had been “troubled” by his “household favourite status” over time, as she felt he was “a bit of a sleaze behind closed doors”.
Warning – this story contains offensive feedback of a sexual nature
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Gregg Wallace’s legal professionals say ‘it’s completely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature’. Pic: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
Wallace, 60, has stepped away from internet hosting MasterChef whereas allegations he made sexual feedback in the direction of employees and movie star friends, on a variety of programmes over 17 years, are investigated.
His legal professionals have mentioned “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.
Throughout her time on the present, Kearney mentioned the presenter would make “sexual innuendos about women when they weren’t in earshot”, in addition to in entrance of them.
She mentioned: “There were several times that he would comment on my legs, or comment on the skirts I was wearing… he made a comment once: ‘If I’d known you had legs like that, maybe you’d have made it further’.”
“I was feeling really proud of it,” she mentioned. “John as ever was a complete gentleman.” Wallace was “in the middle of filming”, she mentioned, within the studio having his make-up retouched when she approached him.
“There was crew everywhere and he was mic’ed up,” she mentioned. “I came into the studio and was like, ‘Hi Gregg, I’ve got something for you!’ And he said, ‘Oh, is it a present for my cock?'”
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Kearney says Wallace’s co-presenter John Torode (left) was at all times ‘an entire gentleman’. Pic: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
‘No one mentioned something’
Kearney mentioned she was so shocked that she stopped nonetheless.
“I felt like I wanted the ground to swallow me up. The humiliation and embarrassment… but it wasn’t just about what he said. I felt so humiliated, I felt so stupid.”
She mentioned she walked away “as quickly as possible”, went to the bathrooms and cried.
“The tears were about feeling humiliated, feeling small, feeling made to feel ‘less than’. I also went around that day hating what I was wearing because he’d already commented on my legs earlier that day.”
Kearney thought somebody on the crew would possibly converse to her afterwards.
“As I came out of the toilets, I thought maybe someone would come up to me and ask me, you know, ‘Are you okay?’ Nobody said anything.”
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Kirstie Allsopp is among the many former Superstar Masterchef contestants who’ve spoken out. Pic: Jonathan Brady/PA
She mentioned there was “no way” different individuals didn’t hear Wallace’s “innuendos constantly throughout filming” and that it was put all the way down to “lad culture” and “banter – but if it’s just banter and it’s fun, then why am I crying in the toilet?”
Kearney mentioned she was “disappointed” by the crew, but in addition in herself for letting it have an effect on her.
She believes Wallace “created an environment” by which his sexually inappropriate feedback have been “normalised in way that you would expect to see in a ’90s lads mag”.
Whereas many individuals have been conscious of his alleged behaviour, it was “difficult” to talk out “about somebody who seems to be very popular… or about a show that is definitely very popular”, she mentioned.
“That’s actually really difficult because you feel like you’re sticking your head above the parapet… people have got a lot to lose by speaking up. If you speak up against MasterChef, you’re going to be dropped by the brand. If you speak out against a popular male presenter, your reputation is the one that’s going to be dragged through the mud.”
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Wallace apologises for ‘middle-aged girls’ video
Former movie star contestants together with Kirsty Wark, Kirstie Allsopp and Emma Kennedy have additionally spoken out.
On the weekend, Wallace issued a defiant response, dismissing his accusers as “middle-class women of a certain age”. Nonetheless, he has since apologised for his feedback – which have been described as “completely inappropriate and misogynistic” by a spokesperson for the prime minister.
In a video on Monday, Wallace mentioned: “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.
“I wasn’t in a superb head area after I posted it, I have been beneath an enormous quantity of stress, a whole lot of emotion, I felt very alone, beneath siege yesterday after I posted it.
“It’s obvious to me I need to take some time out now while this investigation is under way. I hope you understand and I do hope you accept this apology.”
He mentioned: “He’s always full of charisma. And that front of camera charisma is always something that continues into off-screen as well.”
What have producers and the BBC mentioned?
Wallace is being investigated by MasterChef’s manufacturing firm Banijay UK.
“Banijay UK takes this matter incredibly seriously but while the external investigation is ongoing, we won’t be commenting on individual allegations,” a spokesperson for the corporate mentioned.
“It is important to note, that MasterChef welfare processes are regularly adapted and strengthened and there are clear protocols to support both crew and contributors.
“These embrace a number of methods of reporting points, together with anonymously. HR contact particulars are promoted, and contributors are assigned some extent of contact on set obtainable to debate any points or considerations.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “We take any points which can be raised with us severely and we’ve got strong processes in place to take care of them. We’re at all times clear that any behaviour which falls under the requirements anticipated by the BBC is not going to 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.
“It might be inappropriate for us to touch upon something that might kind a part of Banijay’s ongoing investigation or in any other case affect it.”
