Wallace had admitted using inappropriate language, but claimed to have been cleared of ‘the most serious and sensational accusations’. Photograph: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
From The Guardian, Monday 14th July, Michael Savage, Media Editor. Below are my comments in bold italics
“A report on the behaviour of Gregg Wallace has substantiated 45 allegations made against the former BBC presenter, including claims of inappropriate sexual language and one incident of unwelcome physical contact.
A seven-month investigation into the MasterChef presenter’s behaviour covered 83 allegations against him, of which more than half were substantiated. The BBC confirmed Wallace would not be returning to any of its programmes and admitted that opportunities had been missed to deal with his behaviour. The BBC missed opportunities to protect workers from inappropriate behaviour by onscreen talent again!
Most of the substantiated allegations related to inappropriate sexual language and humour. An overview of the report, however, said a ‘smaller number of allegations of other inappropriate language and being in a state of undress were also substantiated’.
The production company Banijay and the BBC said the number of substantiated allegations made Wallace’s return to MasterChef untenable, despite his recent diagnosis as autistic.
Wallace has already admitted using inappropriate language. In a statement after the report was released, he said he was ‘deeply sorry’ for the distress he had caused, but he had ‘never set out to harm or humiliate’. The intentions of a sexual harasser are completely irrelevant.
‘For eight months, my family and I have lived under a cloud,’ he said. ‘Trial by media, fuelled by rumour and clickbait. None of the serious allegations against me were upheld. I challenged the remaining issue of unwanted touching, but have had to accept a difference in perception, and I am deeply sorry for any distress caused. It was never intended.
‘A late autism diagnosis has helped me understand how I communicate and how I’m perceived. I’m still learning. Banijay have given me great support, and I thank them. But in the end, the BBC left me exposed to trial by media and the damage it leaves in its wake.’ It was Wallace’s behaviour that damaged his targets.
…He said he was considering his next move with ‘full legal support.'” I imagine the best advice they can give him right now is to shut up.
There are a few complaints against others on “MasterChef” who would have found Wallace’s behaviour legitimized their own. That’s how abusive behaviour spreads.
“….The other, “MasterChef presenter John Torode confirmed he was the subject of an allegation of using racist language.
In a post on Instagram, Torode said: ‘For the sake of transparency, I confirm that I am the individual who is alleged to have used racial language on one occasion. The allegation is that I did so sometime in 2018 or 2019, in a social situation, and that the person I was speaking with did not believe that it was intended in a malicious way and that I apologised immediately afterwards.’
‘I have absolutely no recollection of any of this, and I do not believe that it happened. However, I want to be clear that I’ve always had the view that any racial language is wholly unacceptable in any environment. I’m shocked and saddened by the allegation as I would never wish to cause anyone any offence.’ Why did Torode ‘apologise immediately afterwards,’ if it didn’t happen?
The culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, said the allegations against Wallace were ‘horrendous and appalling’ and welcomed the BBC’s decision to end its association with him. She said the case highlighted the fact that more needed to be done to protect workers in the creative industries, who often work on a freelance basis.
The chair of the Commons culture, media and sport committee, Caroline Dinenage, said there had been a ‘longstanding failure to protect people against unacceptable workplace behaviour
‘Most complaints were not raised with Mr Wallace himself, suggesting a reluctance to confront this head-on and risk upsetting the on-screen talent,’ she said. ‘When complainants still find it easier to go to the press rather than use internal processes, there is clearly still a long way to go.'”
Had a member of the offscreen talent behaved like Wallace, they would have been fired. I know this because I’ve represented members who have had substantiated complaints made against them. They got a short investigation of a few days, and then their contracts were terminated.
Worse still, the manager of a factory where Wallace was filming for Inside the Factory asked Wallace to leave after he made inappropriate comments to the women workers there. The idea that the BBC didn’t know is an admission of incompetence of no oversight of the productions made for it.. I have come up against this when trying to complain to the BBC about the treatment of workers on productions made on its behalf – “It’s not a BBC production, you’ll have to take it up with the production company concerned.” ITV is no better.
The BBC and production companies producing programmes for them should have a digital traffic light system whereby issues can be raised and dealt with quickly – I can hear the BBC and production companies, ‘Oh that’s more work, and what about malicious complaints?‘ From ten years’ worth of case work, I only came across two cases where I felt my member was fabricating accusations of bullying. Additionally, everyone working on a production should have to fill out an anonymous survey on how the production went, so that red flags about anyone’s behaviour can be picked up and lessons learned.
What is missing in all these scandals is the Duty Of Care toward workers before, during, and after they have worked on these productions, who are they going to be working with, what are the power differentials and whether there are any prior red flags. I also wonder what has to happen before Tim Davie, the director general, takes responsibility and resigns. His nickname when I was working at the BBC was Tethon Tim. If he doesn’t instigate effective action now, then he should resign.
“The investigation heard evidence from 78 witnesses, including 41 complainants. All the report’s findings were linked to allegations made in connection to MasterChef. It found the ‘vast majority’ of the 83 allegations it heard (94%) related to behaviour that was said to have occurred between 2005 and 2018.
It found that 11 complaints or concerns had been raised about Wallace’s behaviour between 2005 and last year. Some were raised with Banijay, others with the BBC. The majority were dealt with informally. Surely this evidences the fact that complaints made about the behaviour of on-screen talent are still not taken seriously. “Oh, we’ll just have a word with him,” doesn’t work; you have to document all complaints.
The production company undertook an investigation into an allegation in 2015 and understood the complainant was happy with the outcome,’ the report said. Whether the complainant was happy shouldn’t be the deciding factor. What else is the complainant likely to say – they want to work again and are probably happy that anything was done. ‘The BBC intervened in response to a complaint in 2017, following which Mr Wallace was warned of the need to change his behaviour. Mr Wallace took steps to heed that warning.’ Really, what steps?
Karen Baxter, a partner and head of investigations at Lewis Silkin, said Wallace had been ‘cooperative and forthcoming’. He was interviewed three times over more than 14 hours. The report’s findings were made based on the civil standard of proof – on the balance of probabilities – rather than the criminal threshold, beyond all reasonable doubt.
It said Wallace’s neurodiversity diagnosis was considered ‘highly relevant’ in the context of the findings made, particularly regarding his use of humour as a ‘masking’ technique and his difficulty in reading social cues. Mr Wallace accepts that his diagnosis may help to explain some of his actions, but he does not wish to hide behind it.’
‘Mr Wallace was consistently described as energetic, humorous, and generally able to put contestants at ease, which contributed to the show’s success,’ it found.
‘However, these interactions and some comments made within earshot of contestants or colleagues sometimes resulted in offence and/or left people feeling uncomfortable.’
With Wallace dropped by the BBC, its director general, Tim Davie, has to decide whether or not to show the new series of MasterChef, most of which was recorded before the presenter stood aside from the role. The BBC said it had not made a final decision on what to do… “
The production companies involved in this type of scandal should be financially penalised, as it’s only when money is involved that they’ll give the issues concerned the priority they deserve. Why would the BBC want to pay for reputational damage?
Then we have Gregg Wallace’s defence remember firstly that the complaints were “middle-class women of a certain age.” Then we have this:
“I was hired by the BBC and MasterChef as the cheeky green grocer, a real person with warmth, character, rough edges, and all. For over two decades that authenticity was part of the brand. Now, in a sanitized world, that same personality is seen as a problem. My neurodiversity, now formally diagnosed as autism, was suspected and discussed by collogues across countless seasons of MasterChef. Yet nothing was done to investigate my disability or protect me from what I now realise was a dangerous environment for over 20 years. That failure is now being quietly buried.”
So the BBC should have protected Gregg Wallace from himself? To suggest that autism is an excuse for dropping your trousers whilst not wearing pants is insulting to autistic people. As an adult in the workplace, you must be able to manage your behaviour, or you shouldn’t be in the workplace.
I thought he didn’t want to hide behind the autism? So on the one hand, it’s middle-class women of a certain age, and on the other, it was his neurodiversity that the BBC was responsible for diagnosing?
The Times reported Gregg Wallace was considering suing the BBC!
It’s his chronic lack of self-awareness that needs a diagnosis – narcissistic personality disorder?
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