MasterChef UK presenter Gregg Wallace has been fired from the program after dozens more people approached the BBC with misconduct allegations.
The BBC said another 50 people had come to them with fresh allegations against Wallace, including one incident where he allegedly groped a MasterChef staff member and pulled his pants down in front of another.
Wallace denied the claims as it was revealed that he had been sacked from the BBC cooking program.
An independent inquiry into 13 prior allegations against him is being conducted by a private law firm, on behalf of the broadcaster’s production company Banijay.
In an Instagram post, Wallace denied the claims and accused the BBC of a smear campaign for clicks.
He said the Banjiay investigation cleared him of “the most serious and sensational allegations” against him.
“I recognise that some of my humour and language, at times, was inappropriate. For that, I apologise without reservation. But I was never the caricature now being sold for clicks,” he wrote.
The BBC said it had not seen the report, which has not been made public.
The broadcaster’s news division investigated Wallace last year, revealing 13 people had made allegations against him, citing sexually inappropriate comments.
Now, the majority of new claims say he made inappropriate jokes, while 11 women have alleged inappropriate sexual behaviour, including touching and groping.
One woman accused the former host of pulling down his pants in front of her while in a dressing room.
She described the alleged act as “disgusting and predatory”.
Another woman said she was left “absolutely horrified” and “sick” after Wallace allegedly groped her.
A third woman alleged that when she was a contestant on BBC’s Saturday Kitchen in 2000, Wallace reached under the table during dinner ahead of filming, putting his hand onto her groin and saying, “Do you like that?”
Various other and similar claims were part of the fresh allegations made against Wallace, including a second incident where he allegedly pulled his pants down in front of a woman when he wasn’t wearing any underwear.
The BBC’s investigation into the claims also included witness testimonies from men who worked on the same shows as Wallace and reported the alleged inappropriate behaviour.
Wallace is one of the highest-profile presenters on British television.
Many of his alleged victims were women, with many telling the BBC they felt they couldn’t report the alleged misconduct at the time out of fear for career repercussions.
