Gregg Wallace dropped as Ambitious About Autism ambassador amid inappropriate behaviour allegations

Wallace has judged the popular BBC cooking competition show alongside chef John Torode since 2005. He stepped back from the show after 13 people, including Newsnight host Kirsty Wark, accused him of inappropriate, "sexualised" behaviour during filming.

The presenter, whose son is autistic and non-verbal, has been an ambassador for Ambitious about Autism since June last year.

In a statement, the charity said: “In light of recent allegations, we are no longer working with Gregg Wallace. We have let him know our decision and thanked him for his support of our work over the last two years.” The charity has also removed Wallace from its list of patrons online.

Banijay UK, the production company behind MasterChef, announced an "immediate, external review" into "historical allegations of misconduct" against Wallace. While the complainants did not raise the allegations directly with the show's producers or Banijay UK, the company stated it is committed to "fully and impartially investigate."

The exact nature of the allegations have not been revealed by the BBC but 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.”

Wallace’s lawyers have denied that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature. Breaking his silence on Thursday evening, Wallace thanked the people who supported him. He said: He said: “I would like to thank all the people, getting in touch, reaching out, and showing their support. That’s good of you. Thank you very much.”

Wallace was awarded an MBE for services to food and charity last year.