Television presenter Gregg Wallace has issued an apology for a series of comments he made in response to an ongoing investigation over alleged misconduct towards former colleagues.
Taking to Instagram, he shared a lengthy video apologising for previously claiming that only 'a handful of middle-class women of a certain age' have come forward to make accusations about his behaviour.
Wallace, 60, stepped down from his long-standing presenting role on MasterChef last week (28 Nov) amid an investigation 'in relation to historical allegations of misconduct'.
The BBC - who announced his departure from the series - have since stated that a total of 13 people have come forward to accuse him of making inappropriate sexual comments.
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Amongst them is former Newsnight host Kirsty Wark, along with several other individuals who worked with Wallace in different television shows over a 17 year period.
Wark alleged that, back in 2011, he made a 'sexualised' joke during filming, which she said were 'really, really in the wrong place.'
Wallace went on to respond to the accusations over the weekend, however, with a message issued on Instagram containing numerous controversial remarks about the women that have come forward.
On Sunday (1 December), he said in the social media clip: "I’ve been doing MasterChef for 20 years, amateur, celebrity and professional MasterChef, and I think, in that time, I have worked with over 4,000 contestants of all different ages, all different backgrounds, all walks of life.
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"Apparently now, I’m reading in the paper, there’s been 13 complaints in that time."
He added: "In the newspapers, I can see the complaints coming from a handful of middle-class women of a certain age just from Celebrity MasterChef. This isn't right."
But following his statement, which garnered a lot of criticism over his use of the phrase 'middle-class women of a certain age', Wallace has issued yet another video apologising for his remarks.
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He said: "I want to apologise for any offence that I caused with my post yesterday and any upset I may have caused to a lot of people.
"I wasn't in a good head space when I posted it I've been under a huge amount of stress a lot of emotion I felt very alone, under siege yesterday when I posted it.
"It's obvious to me I need to take some time out now while this investigation is under way. I hope you understand and I do hope you accept this apology."
Topics: BBC, TV And Film, Gregg Wallace
Rhianna Benson