Penny Lancaster has revealed her husband Sir Rod Stewart gave her the courage to criticize Gregg Wallace for the way he treated her on Celebrity MasterChef.
BBC presenter Gregg, 60, walked away from MasterChef last month after 13 people, including Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark, accused him of “incorrect” and inappropriate “sexualised” behavior during filming.
Penny’s husband. Mister Rod, 79 years old, too He issued a furious rant against Gregg calling him a “chubby, bald, ill-mannered bully” for “humiliating” his wife on the show.
Now, during a recent installment of Loose Women, Penny, 53, said she wouldn’t have felt safe speaking out without her husband’s support.
The model, who has been married to the rocker for 17 years, told the Loose Women panel: “I was obviously not surprised that my husband had done that and I was not surprised by the incidents of Gregg Wallace being accused.” of.’
When asked if she wouldn’t have felt safe, Penny added: “Exactly, yes.” That’s why you hear about landmark cases so often and people wonder why it takes so long for someone to come forward.’
Penny Lancaster, 53, revealed her husband Sir Rod Stewart, 79, gave her the courage to criticize Gregg Wallace for the way he treated her on Celebrity MasterChef.
BBC presenter Gregg, 60, walked away from MasterChef last month after 13 people, including Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark, accused him of “incorrect” and inappropriate “sexualised” behavior during filming (in the photo from 2011).
‘Is it that bravery of “Maybe I’m the only one? Maybe they won’t take me seriously?” Then suddenly you have the backing and support of other people and you feel like they’re going to listen to you.’
Speaking of other women who have approached her, Penny said: “In that conversation and around it, yes.”
“I know a lot of people in the industry and it really hasn’t been a surprise to anyone.”
“It’s a shame that so many women feel like they can’t come forward at that time because they don’t feel supported, so I hope this has a bigger footprint in the industry to protect and safeguard.”
Fans of the show will remember Penny leaving Celebrity MasterChef in tears in 2021 after Gregg scolded her for being “severely” late with her meal and then refusing to eat it.
Following Gregg’s exit from the show, Rod went on a furious rant saying: “So Greg (sic) Wallace is fired from Master Chef.”
‘Good riddance, Wallace… You humiliated my wife when she was on the show, but they cut that part out, right?’
You’re a chubby, bald, rude bully. Karma got you. Mr Rod Stewart.
Penny’s husband Sir Rod also ranted furiously at Gregg, calling him a “chubby, bald, rude bully” for “humiliating” his wife on the show.
MailOnline has contacted the BBC for comment.
As chaos filled the kitchen during his stint on the show, Gregg told Penny, “Dude, we can’t be 10 minutes late,” calling his lateness “serious.”
Following Penny’s eviction from the kitchen in 2021, she shared a cryptic post on Instagram hinting at “a person’s behavior.”
She wrote on Instagram at the time: “When you finally learn that a person’s behavior has more to do with their own struggle than with you, you learn grace.”
Gregg has been accused of taking off his shirt in front of a female worker, saying he wanted to “give her a fashion show” and discuss his sex life with others.
On one occasion he allegedly told a junior colleague that he was not wearing underwear under his jeans.
The BBC has revealed that 13 people, including Kirsty, have complained about his conduct while working with him over a 17-year period on five shows, from 2005 to 2022.
Kirsty claims that on two occasions Gregg told stories and jokes of a “sexualised nature” in front of contestants and crew while filming Celebrity MasterChef in 2011. She said his jokes and comments were “really, really in the wrong place”.
Fans of the show will remember Penny (pictured) leaving Celebrity MasterChef in tears in 2021 after Gregg scolded her for being “severely” late with her meal and then refusing to eat it.
Following Gregg’s exit from the show, Rod went on an angry rant saying: “So Greg Wallace is fired from Master Chef.” Good riddance, Wallace… You humiliated my wife when she was on the show, but they cut that part out, right?
“There were two times in particular where he used sexualized language in front of multiple people and it wasn’t like anyone was engaging in it. It was completely one-way traffic. But I think people felt uncomfortable and it was something that they really didn’t I expected it to happen,’ he said.
The BBC claims Gregg left MasterChef last month after BBC News sent a letter to his agent, setting out allegations from 13 people and giving him the right to reply.
They say he was warned after a complaint was made in 2018, but during the summer of 2024 new historic claims emerged.
Gregg is “committed to cooperating fully throughout the process,” said the show’s producer, Banijay UK.
In October, Gregg vehemently denied making inappropriate sexual comments toward women and stated that he would never “flirt” or “flirt” with another woman saying, “I didn’t say anything sexual.”
BBC News said they had been made aware of other allegations, including the presenter “talking openly about his sex life, taking off his shirt in front of a female worker saying he wanted to “give her a fashion show” and telling a junior colleague he was not wearing boxers underneath. the jeans.
Banijay has not revealed the nature of the allegations.
In a statement to the PA news agency, Banijay UK said: “This week the BBC received complaints from individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with presenter Gregg Wallace on one of our programmes.”
“While these whistleblowers have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we believe it is appropriate to conduct an immediate external review to fully and impartially investigate.”
“While this review takes place, Gregg Wallace will step down from his role on MasterChef and agrees to cooperate fully throughout the process.”
“Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behavior are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways to raise concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set.”
“While these are historical allegations, incidents reported to us where these expectations are not met are thoroughly investigated and appropriately addressed.”
The BBC claims Gregg left MasterChef last month after BBC News sent a letter to his agent, setting out allegations from 13 people and giving him the right to reply (pictured last year).
They say he was warned after a complaint was made in 2018, but new historic claims emerged during the summer of 2024 (pictured on MasterChef).
The statement added: “If anyone would like to speak to us or raise any issues or concerns, they can contact Speakup@banijayuk.com confidentially.”
The BBC has said it takes any issues raised “seriously”.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We take any issues raised seriously and have robust processes in place to deal with them.”
“We are always clear that any behavior that falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.”
“When an individual is hired directly by an outside production company, we share any complaints or concerns with that company and will always support them when addressing them.”