Love Island’s Luca Bish says ‘Christmas is cancelled’ after BBC pulls MasterChef special amid Gregg Wallace scandal
LUCA Bish declared ‘Christmas is cancelled’ after the BBC pulled the plug on his MasterChef special amid the ongoing Gregg Wallace scandal.
Love Island alum Luca, who took part in the ITV dating show in 2022, previously competed in Celebrity MasterChef last year.
He had been set to appear in a festive edition of the BBC cooking show alongside Amy Walsh, Max George and Shazia Mirza.
However, the 25-year-old took to Instagram and revealed the special instalment had been put on hold.
Luca penned: “Christmas is cancelled.
“Gutted our Christmas special has been put on hold but hope to be on your screens again soon.”
One follower commented: “No we need you on the tv luca.”
Another added: “So sad, was really looking forward to this. Can you let us know who won?”
A planned Strictly Come Dancing themed Christmas special has also been pulled off schedules.
This would have featured pro dancers Nancy Xu, Gorka Marquez, Kai Widdrington and Amy Dowden.
A BBC spokesperson said: “As we have said, 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.”
The update comes in the wake of a probe into longtime co-presenter Gregg Wallace‘s alleged misconduct.
Gregg, 60, worked on MasterChef since 2005 – with viewers left shocked after he stepped down last week.
He faces allegations from 13 people across a range of shows over a 17-year period – with others later also coming forward.
A former MasterChef staffer – who worked on the show from 2007 to 2010 – told The Sun she knew of at least six production members who raised concerns about Wallace’s misconduct.
Gregg Wallace - MasterChef scandal in Brief
GREGG Wallace has stepped down from his MasterChef hosting role after a probe into alleged inappropriate behaviour. But what's the situation?
Regular MasterChef host Gregg Wallace is currently the subject of a probe after an investigation was launched into his alleged misconduct over a number of years.
Gregg has been accused of making sexual remarks to 13 colleagues including Beeb anchor Kirsty Wark – accusations he denies.
The 60-year-old has now stepped away from the BBC show while historical misconduct allegations against him are investigated.
Yet the former greengrocer spoke out on social media to blast the “women of a certain age” who he claimed were behind the allegations.
The cooking show’s production company, Banijay UK, has said law firm Lewis Silkin would lead the investigation into Wallace’s alleged misconduct.
She said: “I heard from five female colleagues that they had issues with Gregg, including comments he made which weren’t appropriate for a workplace.
“There was a male staffer too who raised an issue about the language Gregg used when speaking to him.
“Nothing ever seemed to be done to properly address it.
“It was like the worst-kept secret in the TV industry.”