Greg Wallace’s accusers criticize his response to the allegations.

Two of Greg Wallace’s accusers have criticized his response to historical abuse allegations, after he said they came from “a handful of middle-class women of a certain age”.

One of his accusers said the comments showed he “clearly hasn’t learned his lesson”, while another said he wrongly “seems to be a victim of classism”.

In a video posted to Instagram on Sunday, the presenter said she had received “13 complaints” from “over 4,000 candidates” who have worked with her over 20 years on the BBC show MasterChef.

Wallace stepped aside earlier this week after a BBC News investigation revealed allegations of inappropriate sexual comments and inappropriate behavior against him.

The investigation heard from 13 people, spanning a range of ages, who worked on five different shows.

Wallace’s lawyers have vehemently denied he engaged in sexually harassing behaviour, while the BBC said “if people want to tell us something directly they will always listen”.

The 60-year-old told his more than 200,000 followers on Sunday: “I’ve been doing MasterChef for 20 years – amateur, professional and celebrity masterchef – and I think in that time I’ve done 4,000 different kinds of food. Worked with over 100 contestants of all ages, all backgrounds, all walks of life.

“And apparently now, I’m reading in the paper, there have been 13 complaints so far.

“Now, in the newspaper I can only see complaints from a handful of middle-class women of a certain age coming from a celebrity masterchef. That’s not true.”

He concluded his statement by saying: “In over 20 years of television, can you imagine how many women, female contestants have made sexual comments or sexual provocations on MasterChef – can you imagine? Can you?”

Wallace also reposted screenshots of messages of support she received from people who said they were former contestants on the show or had worked with her.

Anna, not her real name, was part of a group that complained about Wallace after working with her in 2018.

Reacting to the Instagram video, she told BBC News she was “not surprised that they are trying to belittle and dismiss people who have bravely come forward”.

“He clearly hasn’t learned his lesson,” he added. “I’m interested to see what consequences he eventually faces from the BBC. [MasterChef production company] Banejay UK for its attitude towards women of all ages.

“While they decide, maybe Gregg should use this time to reflect and take some accountability for the abuse of his position of power instead of adding to the flames on social media. used.”

Another accuser, James, who is not using his real name, said Wallace’s video response “seems like he’s a victim of classism”.

“His humor is not generally working-class or prone to misinterpretation: from my perspective, its main purpose is to test boundaries, make other people (especially women) uncomfortable, and assert one’s power in the room. Have to demonstrate,” he said.

“And it’s not just the women who are angry – there are plenty of men too, it’s just that very few of them have called out the host on his bad behaviour.”

Another woman, who previously worked with Wallace but is not one of the 13 people involved in the BBC News investigation, described the video as “very unpleasant for people coming forward”, particularly Young women.

“I don’t know what class and age have to do with it,” he added.

Actress Emma Kennedy, who won Celebrity MasterChef in 2012 and says she complained about Wallace’s behavior at the time, said: “It doesn’t matter how old any woman is. is”.

He added: “Playing the ‘they’re going after me because I’m working class’ card is ridiculous.”

TV presenter Kirsty Allsopp told BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend about a meeting with Wallace several years ago that left her “very embarrassed”, when he “referred to something “. [he and his partner] what in bed”

She said Wallace’s latest comments were “unacceptable”, adding: “He’s basically saying this is a class issue and middle-class women don’t understand what he’s talking about. Because he is working class.”

On Thursday, Banje UK said Wallace would step down from presenting the show while allegations of historical misconduct are investigated.

Banje added that he is “committed to fully cooperating throughout the process.”

It came after BBC News sent a letter to Wallace’s representatives, detailing such allegations from 13 people over a 17-year period.

One of them was broadcaster Kirsty Wark, a 2011 contestant on Celebrity MasterChef, who said he told “sexual” jokes during filming.

It comes as broadcasters and production companies face fresh questions over their handling of the allegations against Wallace.

Radio host Asma Mir said she initially complained to Benjay in 2017 that Wallace had allegedly made inappropriate comments while filming the program. It is believed that he then had to take his complaint to the BBC.

In an internal email, BBC executive Kate Phillips, who now heads unscripted programs for the corporation, said her behavior on set was “unacceptable and will not continue,” the Sunday Times reported. can”.

She added that she would ensure she was “immediately informed” if any further charges were brought against her.

Mir later sent an email that was copied to Phillips, saying: “This should not happen again with another woman.”

Some of the allegations against Wallace in the BBC News investigation relate to events later in 2017.

There was another complaint in 2018, which came to light in our investigation, related to a different show called Impossible Celebrities.

A BBC investigation at the time found his behavior was “unacceptable and unprofessional” and spoke to Miss Phillips for 90 minutes.

Separately, the Observer says a letter containing a number of claims of inappropriate behavior by Greg Wallace was sent to the BBC in 2022, but at that time no further investigation had resulted.

“It would be wrong to report that the BBC did nothing when or when matters were raised with us,” a BBC source said on Sunday.

“We continue to urge caution about prejudging any of this, particularly the involvement of BBC staff members and any estimates they may have made,” the source told BBC News. has not functioned properly.”

On Saturday, Benejay UK announced that it had appointed “tough” law firm Lewis Silken to lead an investigation into Wallace’s alleged misconduct.