Former “MasterChef” host Gregg Wallace, who was fired from the BBC show in July after an investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct, is taking legal action against the broadcaster.
Wallace filed the claim, which is related to data protection, on Friday. He is suing both the BBC and its commercial arm, BBC Studios. Details of his lawsuit have not yet been made public but it has been filed under Part 7 of the “media and communication” legal track at the High Court, which covers data protection, defamation and misuse of private information claims. Variety understands that Wallace is seeking documents relating to his firing.
“We have not been formally notified of any legal proceedings so at this stage we are unable to comment,” a BBC spokesperson told Variety.
According to The Sun, Wallace is also preparing to file a disability claim against the BBC in an employment tribunal after he disclosed he has been diagnosed with autism, which he said the broadcaster was aware of.
Wallace originally stepped away from hosting “MasterChef” in November after 13 people came forward with allegations of the host making sexually inappropriate comments toward them from 2005 to 2022. Then, BBC News revealed the existence of 50 further accusers, with some accusing Wallace of inappropriate sexual behavior including groping and touching.
An independent investigation into his conduct in July substantiated 45 of the allegations against Wallace and resulted in him being fired from “MasterChef.” The substantiated allegations primarily involved inappropriate sexual language and humor, with a smaller number relating to other inappropriate language and being in a state of undress. One allegation of unwanted physical contact was also substantiated.
Wallace initially denied the claims, but acknowledged after the report came out that it found him “primarily guilty of inappropriate language” between 2005 and 2018.
“I recognize that some of my humor and language, at times, was inappropriate. For that, I apologize without reservation,” Wallace wrote in a statement on Instagram. He then declared: “I will not go quietly. I will not be canceled for convenience.”
Also in July, Wallace’s “MasterChef” co-host, John Torode, was fired from the show over allegations of racist language. However, the BBC still decided to air a season of the show in August, with Wallace and Torode’s appearance in it heavily edited.
