The BBC has been urged to look into its workplace culture, after an independent probe into Gregg Wallace’s behaviour led to his exit along with co-host John Torode.
Torode was axed from the cooking show after the same review upheld a complaint about him using a racist phrase.
People who worked with Wallace and Torode on MasterChef told The i Paper what they were like on set.
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He said Torode was “a pretty discreet guy, very straight down the middle and professional – a very different character to Gregg”.
The ex-crew member said he felt “a degree of sympathy” for Torode after his exit in the wake of the Lewis Silkin report. “I think the BBC probably thinks the whole culture at MasterChef is rotten, so they need to get rid of both.”
The source said Wallace would make “rude, obscene jokes in front of contestants”, but was “even more lewd away from contestants”.
They said the inappropriate humour did not spread to other staff, with Wallace an outlier. “There was a lot of forced laughter to keep him happy,” he said, adding that “most of what he said wasn’t funny”.
“Senior executive producers would have known about his behaviour.”
‘Producers didn’t shut down banter culture’
“The banter culture, to put it mildly, at MasterChef was widely known in the industry but the producers didn’t try to shut it down,” an industry insider claimed. “The people in power who enabled Wallace should also face accountability.”
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“But a change of presenters doesn’t mean the production company can just evade responsibility for what happened over many years. The BBC should review the culture there. Can the same people remain in charge for the new MasterChef era?”
On Tuesday, the BBC’s Director-General Tim Davie insisted that MasterChef “absolutely” had a future and was “much bigger than individuals”.
Banijay UK pointed out that the Lewis Silkin report did not suggest that individuals were at fault. It is understood senior management has also changed significantly since the period leading up to 2018.
The Lewis Silkin report found that the “vast majority” of the allegations heard about Wallace related to behaviour between 2005 and 2018.
New MasterChef series likely to be aired
Richard Osman, the BBC presenter and best-selling novelist, who is well-connected within the TV industry, said he understood that the unbroadcast MasterChef series presented by Torode and Wallace, would now be aired.
Osman told the Rest Is Entertainment podcast: “The feeling at the BBC and the feeling at Banijay, having talked to everyone who has been on that show, is they would like to show it because they’ve spoken to, I think, pretty much every single contestant. The contestants are saying, ‘We would be gutted if this doesn’t go out.’
“So I think, well, I’d be fairly confident in saying that the current plan is to show that series.”
The BBC said a decision on the amateur chef challenge series would be announced soon.
The Celebrity MasterChef series presented by Torode and Grace Dent would also be broadcast later this year, Osman predicted.
But he said ways of reporting concerns had “improved exponentially in recent years” and the company would be creating an externally-run whistleblowing service.
But Wallace was reportedly told in a letter of dismissal last week that the BBC did not have the confidence he could change his behaviour.
MasterChef contestant: Wallace was charming
Some contestants who appeared on MasterChef in recent years said they had found Wallace charming on set.
“Gregg was so warm and welcoming – he made me feel at home. He was down to earth,” said the 30-year-old from Bournemouth. “He did make a lot of jokes. But I didn’t really get them because I was concentrating on the cooking.”
Responding to the results of the Lewis Silkin report, Wallace said he was “deeply sorry for any distress” he caused, adding: “Some of my humour and language missed the mark.”
Wallace also said he had “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”.
In a statement on Tuesday, Torode said he had “no recollection of what I’m accused of”, adding: “The enquiry could not even state the date or year of when I am meant to have said something wrong.”
A representative for Torode was approached for comment. Wallace declined to comment.
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