Katy Brand breaks silence on MasterChef ‘tart’ moment with Gregg Wallace as she slams ‘crass’ star and backs probe
KATY Brand has broken her silence on the MasterChef ‘tart’ moment with Gregg Wallace as she slammed the ‘crass’ star.
The 45-year-old took to Instagram to release a statement after Greg, 60, stepped down from the hugely popular BBC1 show yesterday.
It follows complaints from 13 people about historical allegations, including former Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark.
Katy said: “I am aware of the allegations of misconduct currently surrounding Greg Wallace.
“I am aware that he has stepped back from presenting Masterchef until these allegations have been properly investigated.
“I am also aware that a video of my time on the show in 2013 is circulating, where Wallace makes a remark to me about a dish I cooked.
“I took it as an innuendo-laden remark at the time, and I still see it that way now.”
She continued: “My reaction on camera was one of shock and disbelief at such a crass and idiotic joke, and so I laughed and said ‘excuse me?’
“To which he reacted with a deadpan express and remark about my laughter.
“The video online is a pretty accurate representation of my recollection of what happened.
“It was awkward.
“For the sake of clarity, I am not one of those who has made an official complaint.
“I applaud those who have, especially those who work off-camera and who often find they do not have the opportunity or support to react in the moment.
“I hope they find it now.
“That’s all I have to say.
“Thanks.”
Gregg Wallace's career to date
Gregg Wallace has been a familiar face on TV for years now thanks to his role as a judge on MasterChef - but let's take a closer look at his career so far...
- Gregg Wallace left school at 15 and started his career working on a fruit and veg stall in London.
- In 1989, he started George Allan’s Greengrocers, a company that grew to a turnover of £7.5 million.
- Gregg’s experience in the world of fruit and veg lead to him co-hosting Veg Talk on BBC Radio 4 with Charlie Hicks for seven years.
- He then became the first host of Saturday Kitchen in 2002, a role he held for a year before being replaced by Antony Worrall Thompson in 2003.
- At the same time, Gregg presented a number of food-related TV specials, including Veg Out for the Discovery Channel.
- Gregg landed his most notable TV role as a co-presenter and judge on BBC’s competitive cooking show MasterChef in 2005. He stars alongside John Torode.
- In 2010 Gregg pursued another life-long dream of opening a restaurant. He opened the establishment Wallace & Co. in Putney.
- Then, in 2012, he opened Gregg’s Bar & Grill in a joint venture with the Bermondsey Square Hotel.
- Gregg then scored a hosting gig with the BBC, presenting the documentary Supermarket Secrets in August 2013.
- Unfortunately, times were tough for Gregg, and in the same month, it was reported that one of his companies, West Veg Limited, had folded, owing more than £500,000.
- In 2014, both of his restaurants folded, with Wallace & Co owing suppliers £150,000.
- However, his TV career continued to thrive, and in 2015 became the regularly host of the award-winning documentary food series Eat Well for Less? Gregg helmed the show for eight years before stepping away.
- He also competed on Strictly Come Dancing.
- Gregg then made Telly history again when he revived the BBC’s historical game show Time Commanders.
- More recently, the celebrity chef has presented a number of travel programmes such as Big Weekends with Gregg Wallace, South Africa with Gregg Wallace, and the food mockumentary, Gregg Wallace: The British Miracle Meat.
The moment went viral, showing the moment Gregg told Katy: “I’ll munch the living daylights out of your little tart”.
It happened during the series that aired back in 2013.
The scene shows Katy presenting an egg tart to Gregg and his co-host John Torode.
Gregg tells her: “I find this quite pleasant. Left to my own devices, I’d probably munch the living daylights out of your little tart.”
Yesterday it was revealed that Gregg stepped down from MasterChef.
It comes after The Sun reported how Gregg previously came under fire after “inappropriate sexual comments” were reportedly made to a female BBC staffer on Impossible Celebrities.
On Thursday evening Greg broke his silence.
The presenter thanked people for “showing their support” on a video posted to his Instagram.
It comes as he has been accused of mimicking a sex act in front of horrified colleagues as he faces a fresh wave of allegations.
Gregg said in an Instagram video: “I would like to thank all the people getting in touch, reach out and showing their support.
“That’s good of you, thank you very much.”
Gregg joined the show in 2005.