Gregg Wallace 'thought about suicide' amid MasterChef controversy
Gregg Wallace has opened up about his struggles after stepping down from his role on 'MasterChef'.
Gregg Wallace "thought about suicide all the time" after leaving 'MasterChef'.
The 60-year-old TV star left 'MasterChef' after allegations of sexual harassment surfaced in 2024, and Gregg has admitted to feeling overwhelmed by the intense scrutiny at the time.
He told the Daily Mail newspaper: "Nobody from the BBC contacted me once these stories started breaking – absolutely nobody at all.
"News channels were updating hourly with new allegations. There was a tidal wave of abuse on social media, a dozen reporters outside the gate. You’re watching yourself get personally ripped apart, criticised, accused of all sorts of stuff over and over again. You’re thinking, 'This isn’t true. It isn’t true. What’s coming next?'
"You don’t sleep. Your chest races. Your body feels like it’s shutting down because it can’t cope with the levels of stress. You feel really dirty and horrible because everybody is saying you’re a pervert.
"Women - big, respected personalities I thought I had a decent relationship with - were attacking me."
The allegations prompted an investigation and those findings are expected to be made public in May.
Gregg believes there should be channels open for "vulnerable people to complain if they are being bullied, harassed or made to feel uncomfortable". But the TV star also thinks the system needs to be "perfected".
He continued: "It doesn’t work if the person is a public figure and everything becomes a public trial.
"Crying out loud, I had no idea where all these people were coming from."
Gregg cut himself off from the outside world at the height of the controversy, and he's confessed to having some dark thoughts at the time.
The TV star - who married his wife Anna in 2016 - said: "[A 'MasterChef' executive] was the first person I’d spoken to in days. Nobody should be left on their own to face something like this. It’s very difficult to explain the pressure unless you’ve been through it. I thought about suicide all the time: 'Is my insurance up to date? Will Anna get some money? She doesn’t deserve this. It would be better if I wasn’t here.'"
Banijay UK, 'Masterchef's production company, announced plans to launch its own investigation in November.
The company said at the time: "While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on 'MasterChef' and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process.
"Banijay UK's duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set.
"Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately."
