He is the Bermondsey-born fruit and veg man who has enthralled (and sometimes irritated) those who have seen him on television for the past 20 years.
Despite being expelled from school at the age of 15 and starting out as a greengrocer, he has carved out a highly successful television career as well as writing numerous best-selling cookbooks.
The presenter rarely leaves our screens and has appeared on a number of BBC programmes, from documentaries to cooking shows.
But the TV regular looks almost unrecognizable in a throwback snapshot without his glasses and, most importantly, his hair.
Can you guess who it is?
A television presenter, 59, looked unrecognizable in a snapshot with his hair; He rarely leaves our screens and has appeared on several BBC programmes.
Ding ding ding! It’s Gregg Wallace.
The MasterChef co-host has changed in more ways than one since this photo was taken.
In addition to losing more than fifth place, Gregg sought help from a therapist after being emotionally scarred by his upbringing.
He claimed in his autobiography Life On A Plate that his nanny’s husband sexually abused him when he was eight years old.
When she was 15, her mother left the man she thought was her father and ran away with her boyfriend, who turned out to be her real father.
Gregg stated that he felt unloved and unwanted. Expelled from school after an altercation with a teacher, he left home and lived in an empty apartment owned by his father.
He slowly worked his way up, creating his own fruit and vegetable business (earning the nickname ‘Gregg the Veg’ among his friends) in 1989 and supplying restaurants such as Quaglinos, where the young Australian chef John Torode worked.
John and Gregg were brought together by a television production company, Shine, which was looking for new names to relaunch MasterChef in 2005.
Gregg, pictured left, weighed almost 30 pounds when he was told he needed to lose weight. He now weighs around 12 kilos, in the photo on the right.
John Torode (left) and Gregg (right) were created by a television production company, Shine, which was looking for new names to relaunch MasterChef in 2005.
By then, Gregg had secured two marriages. His first wife, Christine, left him after just six weeks.
His second wife, pastry chef Denise, lasted longer and they had children, Tom and Libby. But Gregg admitted to a series of affairs and they separated in 2004.
The divorce was messy and involved a lengthy custody battle, which coincided with Denise’s spiral into alcoholism. Eventually, Gregg gained full custody of Tom and Libby.
Sadly, Denise passed away in 2017.
Gregg met his future third wife, Heidi, after she sent him a question about celery on Twitter in 2009.
She was a teacher and was 27 years old when she met 44-year-old Gregg.
Within four months they were living together and married in 2011, amidst the glare of media attention, including a big-money deal with a celebrity magazine.
They separated after a year. He said they both “struggled with appropriate intimacy.”
Next came a flirtation with glamor model Cara Franco, 26, whom he had met at an exhibition, but they split after he told an interviewer he was still in love with Heidi.
When Gregg and Heidi split in 2012, just 14 months after their wedding, he began dating beautiful, leggy women who made him feel, he said in a previous interview with the Mail, “like riding in my Jaguar with the roof down” when I went into restaurants with them. His therapist told him he would never find happiness if he continued choosing women like he chose cars.
“The reason I had so many girlfriends was because I was always looking for someone,” he revealed.
“I think it’s an absolute game of chance. What are the chances of finding someone who not only attracts you and makes you feel comfortable and happy, but who is also looking for what you have to offer? What is the chance that will that happen?
Having once again turned to Twitter (now
The caterer had messaged Gregg to ask if rhubarb really went with duck, a combination he had suggested on air.
The married couple now live together on a £1million farm with their five-year-old son and mother-in-law. Anna’s father Massimo tragically died at the age of 66 last year.
Gregg Wallace met his third wife, Heidi Brown, pictured, on Twitter in 2009; They finally separated.
Anne-Marie (left) and Gregg Wallace (right) married in 2016 and live together in Kent, with their children and Gregg’s in-laws.
But despite living with his close-knit family on an idyllic farm, Gregg said his traumatic childhood experience left him with a bad temper and so much stress that he would develop a cold sore-like rash on his face.
Strictly bosses were so worried about him when he was on the show that they recommended he see a therapist.
“My main problems are low self-esteem, the fact that I am a workaholic and a completely illogical fear of being poor,” he once said.
In addition to working on his mental health, the television presenter set out to about being ultra fit after his doctor warned him that his expanding waist could lead to a heart attack in 2017.
Gregg, who is 5ft 8in and weighed 16lb 7lb at his heaviest, admitted he was unhappy when he was overweight, so he knew he had to lose weight.
While he continues to divide opinion, Gregg’s fifth weight loss and endless positivity despite a troubled childhood and checkered love life have made him something of a wellness guru and life coach.
His new muscular figure and fitness plans have earned him new fans on social media.
Gregg left fans baffled after revealing his typical weekend routine that includes a “no-sweat” workout, a fry-up in the Harvester and hours playing historical war video games.
In fact, an article about Gregg’s typical Saturday, detailed in a national newspaper, quickly began trending on X and was shared on WhatsApp groups, with many comparing him to Alan Partridge.
As well as staying fit for his wife Anna, Gregg also said he wanted to be in good health for his baby Sid.
talking to intimately magazine, Gregg says his youngest son gave him the ultimate motivation to improve his physique.
He said: ‘Having my baby made me want to be fit and strong. Now I can take long walks, which I wouldn’t have been able to do before.’
The TV star married his wife Anna in August 2016 in a lavish ceremony at Hever Castle in Kent.
He said: “The fact that Anna was younger than me was an even bigger inspiration to get fit – you can have an older husband, but she didn’t have to have an old, fat husband.”
After losing size, Gregg maintains his weight loss with regular exercises five times a week.
The TV host recently took to Instagram to deny allegations that he bragged about his sex life with a younger employee and took off his top in front of her while filming a game show, saying he would never ‘flirt’ or ‘flirt’ with another. woman since he is “madly in love” with Anna.
Beeb bosses are said to have taken the MasterChef co-host into a meeting in 2018 following allegations of “inappropriate sexual comments” and told him to “change his behaviour”.
Gregg said: ‘The story in the papers this morning was quickly investigated when it happened six years ago by the BBC.
‘And the result of that was that he hadn’t said anything sexual. I’ll need to repeat this again. I didn’t say anything sexual.
‘Despite what the newspapers suggest, six years ago no one accused me of flirting with anyone or flirting with anyone.
‘And the reason I say this is because of my wife Anna. I have always been faithful to my wife Anna and have never flirted or flirted with anyone in the 12 years (since) I met her and fell in love with her.
“And it’s important that, so that people don’t misunderstand, I’m faithful to my wife.”
