Melanie Sykes has been spotted for the first time since she became embroiled in the ongoing feud with Gregg Wallace.
The presenter, 54, previously said spending time with the MasterChef host on the BBC show in 2021 caused her to step away from her TV career.
Melanie was spotted out for a walk with her dog near her home on Thursday, wrapped in a long black coat and a checkered scarf.
Gregg, 60, faces lawsuits from at least 13 women who have accused him of inappropriate behavior, including wandering around the set naked with a sock on his penis, inappropriate jokes and groping crew members.
In her book, the former host claimed that Gregg greeted her on the show by asking if the models ate, which she said she found “unprofessional” and full of “ignorance and disrespect.”
Melanie also said that Gregg spent time ‘barking orders’ in a way that made her want to leave the show.
Melanie Sykes, 56, has been seen for the first time since she became embroiled in the ongoing Gregg Wallace feud.
The presenter previously said spending time with the MasterChef host on the BBC show in 2021 caused her to step away from her TV career.
Melanie was spotted out for a walk with her dog near her home on Thursday, wrapped in a long black coat and a plaid-print scarf.
And Gregg apparently told her that appearing on his show would do a lot for her career prospects.
Melanie said: “I didn’t know what to say, so I smiled and said ‘yes’, but I was actually thinking: ‘Yes, you’ve finally helped me decide to end my TV career once and for all.’
Melanie said she lodged an informal complaint against Wallace and claimed she found the behavior on the MasterChef set “astonishing”.
Melanie is best known for the Boddingtons advert in the 1990s and as co-presenter of Today with Des and Mel in the early 2000s.
He made the comments about Gregg in his autobiography, titled Illuminated, which was published last year, and expanded on them in recent days in a video posted on YouTube.
In her book, Melanie wrote: “The MasterChef experience continued to be eye-opening and some unprofessional behavior on set left me speechless.”
In his recent YouTube video, he said that “every time Gregg came up to the desk, I didn’t like him being around because it’s all about vibes and energy.”
At the end of filming the show, Melanie claimed she had a brief conversation with Gregg, which was a major factor in her leaving television.
Gregg faces lawsuits from at least 13 women who have accused him of inappropriate behavior, including wandering around the set naked with a sock on his penis.
In her book, Melanie claimed that Gregg greeted her on the show by asking her if the models ate food, which she said she found “unprofessional” and full of “ignorance and disrespect.”
In her book, the former host claimed that Gregg greeted her on the show by asking if the models ate, which she said seemed “unprofessional.”
Melanie also said that Gregg spent time ‘barking orders’ in a way that made her want to leave the show.
Melanie said she lodged an informal complaint against Wallace and claimed she found the behavior on the MasterChef set “astonishing”.
He made the comments about Gregg in his autobiography, titled Illuminated, which was published last year, and expanded on them in recent days in a video posted on YouTube.
It is not known to whom Melanie made an informal complaint about Gregg.
Following her comments, Jeremy Vine and Dawn Neesom attacked Melanie when they admitted to being “confused” by her complaints against Gregg.
Speaking on Wednesday’s episode of The Jeremy Vine Show, Jeremy and collaborator Dawn Neesom said they didn’t understand why his comment would be egregious enough to make her want to quit her TV career.
Jeremy said: “I’m a bit confused by that regarding Mel, who I really like, the only story I can get out of it is that he made some kind of off-color comment to her about how much they value models.” eat.’
Journalist Dawn said: ‘Some of the allegations are appalling and sexual misconduct to say the least. Mel Sykes was asked what she ate as a model, I’m sorry if you’re offended (I like Mel, I’m not going to try and attack her) but if you’re upset and offended by that compared to some of the accusations…’
Jeremy added: ‘And you’re leaving TV as a result? I think there were other things going on that she hasn’t detailed.
Dawn replied: ‘That’s what we know, that they asked her what she ate when she was a model. It’s the kind of question I would ask a model, to be honest with you.
Last week, Gregg stopped hosting the show after nearly 20 years. His absence comes while allegations of inappropriate comments he made towards staff and celebrity guests over 17 years are being investigated.
The presenter has defended himself against all the accusations against him, blaming “middle class women of a certain age.”
But on Monday he apologized for his controversial comments and admitted he was “not in a good frame of mind” when he posted the rant.
Banijay UK, the show’s producer, previously said complaints were made to the BBC by “individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with Gregg Wallace on one of our programmes”.
The company said Wallace was “committed to cooperating fully throughout the process.”
“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,” the company said.
“While this review is underway, Gregg Wallace will step down from his role on MasterChef and agrees to cooperate fully throughout the process.
Following her comments, Jeremy Vine and Dawn Neesom criticized Melanie and admitted to being “confused” by her complaints against Gregg.
Gregg Wallace (pictured) last week stepped down from hosting the show after nearly 20 years. His absence comes while allegations of inappropriate comments he made towards staff and celebrity guests over 17 years are being investigated.
“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.”
It comes as TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp also claimed Gregg spoke about a sex act involving his partner “within an hour” of meeting him.
He told the Mail that the show should be taken off the air “if the majority” of people working on it felt it was the right decision.
She said: “A television show is a team effort and therefore whether it is aired or not should be up to them.”
‘If the majority of people on the show think it shouldn’t go ahead, then it should go off the air.
“I love the BBC, but this is a really difficult problem for them.”