The MasterChef host allegedly sexually harassed Gregg Wallace’s ghostwriter.
Shannon Kyle wrote Gregg Wallace’s memoir, Life On A Plate.
Gregg Wallace’s 2012 autobiography’s ghostwriter has accused him of sexually harassing her.
Shannon Kyle alleged on BBC Newsnight that the MasterChef presenter had made “revolting” and “sickening” sexualized statements to her, improperly grabbed her, and opened the door while wearing only a towel, which he eventually dropped.
At the age of 35, Kyle started working on Wallace’s autobiography, Life on a Plate.
“Our client has denied that he has engaged in any such behavior, and he specifically denies any sexual misconduct with Ms. Kyle,” Wallace’s attorneys stated.
There are detailed descriptions of alleged sexual harassment in this tale.
Kyle said that while writing the book between May and August 2012, Wallace revealed specifics about his personal sexual life.
After Wallace’s appearance at the Good Food Show in Birmingham, the now-47-year-old also claims that he felt her butt and inappropriately stroked her thigh while she was sitting in the passenger seat of his sports car.
According to Kyle, she decided to come forward in order to draw attention to what she called Wallace’s “predatory” actions.
Newsnight presented these new accusations to Wallace’s representatives on Tuesday.
The presenter’s attorneys have vehemently denied that he acts in a sexually inappropriate manner.
The Sun has further revealed claims that Strictly Come Dancing executives received information about Wallace’s alleged inappropriate behavior during his 2014 appearance on the show.
The newspaper reported that after the first week, at least one staff member voiced concerns about the 60-year-old, leading to his removal.
Wallace recently released video footage of one of his training sessions with dancing partner Aliona Vilani, in which he grabs his crotch and tells her that he hasn’t worn underwear in years.
A spokesperson for the BBC stated: “Whilst we do not comment on individuals, we take any issues that are raised with us seriously, and we have robust processes in place to deal with them.”
The BBC show’s production company, Banijay UK, stated this week that Wallace will be “stepping away from his role on MasterChef” in response to specific complaints over past misconduct claims.
Following an investigation by BBC News, they interviewed 13 people of all ages who had complained about inappropriate sexual remarks in five different programs.
Since then, other women have come forward with additional accusations against the television personality.
Banijay UK said Wallace was “committed to fully cooperating throughout the process” and promised an “immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate.”
“Just put on your clothes and leave.”
“The first interview we did was pretty straightforward, and then we agreed to meet whenever he was available,” Kyle said when he started working with Wallace on the book.
According to Kyle, the author of multiple books, Wallace “started to talk about his love life” during the “second or third interview,” which was conducted in his restaurant at around 8 a.m. to accommodate his “very busy schedule filming.”
He had a number of different ladies in his life. He then began to tell me about these dates, including the women’s names and the places where he had met them. Kyle went on to describe in excellent detail the sexual actions they had engaged in together.
“He frequently discussed spanking. In front of a mirror, he also described one of his girlfriends on all fours. He described one of his girlfriends in extreme sexual detail, which was shocking at the time because it wasn’t essential for the plot.
Wallace once opened the door “completely naked, except for a towel around his waist” for a scheduled meeting at his apartment, according to her.
She says Wallace told her that he had just returned from the gym and showered and that he was fine with her entering the living room.
Kyle reported that she said to Wallace, “Look, can you just go and get dressed?”
She claimed to have waited for him by sitting on the couch. She asserts that Wallace had his pants folded behind the cushion she was sitting next to when he returned.
She remarked, “I kind of looked up, and then he dropped the towel.”
“Definitely not,” Ms. Kyle responded when Newsnight inquired if the towel dropping may have been an accident.
Being alone in a flat with a man made me feel very exposed. “He’s nude,” she declared.
Before starting the project, Kyle, who was then a single dad, had signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
The “writer recognizes that Wallace has a high public profile and her duties of loyalty and confidentiality are therefore of particular significance,” according to the NDA.
“I had sacrificed all of my work for this job, so I was afraid of losing it,” she stated. I made the decision to persevere through this challenge, she said. “It was simply disgusting.”
Kyle claimed that the TV host made other sexualized remarks during a lunch at a restaurant, such as, “If you won’t let me sleep with you, would you lick my [anus]?” at another book conference.
“What would you think if I put some of the Eton Mess you’re eating on my willy, then?” she asked while eating dessert.
It was “sickening… obscene,” according to Kyle. Clearly, the intention was to make people uncomfortable in some way.
Another time, she claimed, Wallace started a “really big hug” as they were saying goodbye after concluding an interview at his apartment.
“His face was very close to mine. I froze in place.
She claims that Wallace said, “Just give me a little kiss,” while speaking into her ear. She claims that Wallace only gave her a small kiss.
Then, Kyle claimed, she “paused,” and “I kind of pushed him off a little bit or he let go.” After that, I was eager to leave as soon as possible.
She claimed to have departed “in tears.”
It has been a while coming.
Kyle claimed that Wallace had harassed and behaved inappropriately toward her on other occasions besides the event at the apartment.
She further alleges that he sexually touched her on the thigh and around the knee while changing gears after picking her up in his sports car on her way to an interview.
Kyle claimed that she told him to stop after she moved away due to the action.
She says that Wallace “started trying to touch my knee and my thigh again” on the way home from the restaurant interview.
At this point, she claimed, “I really had had enough, and I started to lose my temper.”
She claimed that after threatening to strike Wallace in the car, he stopped and “didn’t try again.”
However, Kyle claims that later on, the alleged unwanted touching and harassment persisted.
She journeyed to Birmingham, the location of Wallace’s scheduled appearance at the Good Food Show, for the final interview for the book.
She said that after the incident, Wallace had sexually groped her butt in a hotel parking lot.
Kyle described the accusations of Wallace’s inappropriate remarks and actions as a “long time coming”.
“Sometimes you do have to speak up for what’s right,” she said, characterizing his actions as “predatory.”
According to the ghostwriter, some have minimized Wallace’s alleged behaviors as “cheeky barrow-boy humour,” while she calls them “revolting misogyny.”
Following the revelation of accusations regarding Wallace’s actions last Thursday, the BBC canceled their MasterChef Christmas specials.
John Torode, Wallace’s co-host, stated on Wednesday that he was “truly upsetting” by the fresh accusations.
In response to the accusations against Wallace, a BBC representative praised people who “had the courage to speak out.” It stated that because of their contractual arrangement with Wallace, the production firm Banijay UK had started a review.
“The BBC does not employ him. When the BBC receives complaints, we address the issue with the relevant production firm and confront him about his widely publicized actions.
The spokesperson stated that they anticipate the completion of the independent inquiry “as quickly and rigorously as possible.”
Additionally, the BBC is conducting an internal investigation into workplace culture.
