Gregg Wallace: I'm A Celeb star reportedly lined up to be announced as MasterChef judge's replacement amid scandal

Food critic Grace Dent will reportedly step in and replace Gregg Wallace on the hit cooking competition show, according to The Sun. Gregg stepped back from his MasterChef duties after the show’s production company, Banijay UK, confirmed that an investigation was underway following multiple complaints of historical misconduct.

It now looks likely that the star will not be returning to the show at all, with Dent said to be ready to fill his MasterChef boot. A source told The Sun: “Grace is the perfect choice to replace Gregg on MasterChef.

“She’s knowledgeable about food and opinionated, plus it’s great to have a woman as a judge on the show. It will shake things up and give the series the boost it needs after such an upsetting and uncertain time.

Gregg Wallace found himself at the centre of the scandal amid claims that he had acted unprofessionally while on set, including making “lewd” comments in front of female contestants and crew members. BBC News reported that at least 13 people had complained about his behaviour including Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark, who appeared on Celebrity MasterChef in 2011.

Since the scandal broke, other notable names have come forward. Former TV and radio presenter Melanie Sykes said that a comment made by Wallace led her to ending her career in the entertainment industry, while model Penny Lancaster said that the MasterChef judge said: "I most definitely was witness and victim to some of the bullying and harassment behaviour of Gregg Wallace, and unfortunately, a lot of those involved in the production team were also witness to that, and I really feel that he used his position of power to, I believe, intimidate and cause distress to a lot of people on set.”

Wallace’s lawyers have denied all allegations. The TV presenter also took to social media with a response video, in which he said that the complaints about his behaviour had been made by “middle-class women of a certain age”. He later apologised for his comments.

The BBC confirmed that the Celebrity MasterChef Christmas specials had been cancelled amid the misconduct claims. MasterChef: The Professionals, also featuring Wallace, aired its final last week, with the broadcaster saying: “MasterChef is an amazing competition which is life-changing for the chefs taking part and the current series of MasterChef: The Professionals is continuing as planned. The celebrity Christmas specials are obviously a different type of show and in the current circumstances we have decided not to broadcast them."