Ousted ‘MasterChef’ Host Takes Legal Action Against Network

Ousted MasterChef host Gregg Wallace has filed a lawsuit against the BBC after being fired following a misconduct scandal.

Wallace has filed a High Court legal claim against the BBC and BBC Studios Distribution Limited under the Media and Communications list at the High Court, citing data protection concerns, Deadline reported Wednesday.

While the details of the claim have yet to be confirmed, The Guardian reports that the proceeding is understood to request the disclosure of confidential documents about his firing.

A BBC spokesperson told Deadline of the claim, “We have not been formally notified of any legal proceedings so at this stage we are unable to comment.”

Wallace was fired from his role as presenter at the BBC in July after an independent report by the law firm Lewis Silkin substantiated 45 allegations made against him, which included claims of inappropriate sexual language and an incident of unwelcome physical contact.

At the time, MasterChef production company Banijay UK and the BBC called Wallace’s return to the program “untenable.”

Wallace has since apologized for “any distress caused,” but maintained that the unwanted touching allegation was due to a “difference in perception.” While he said that some of his humor and language “missed the mark,” he added, “I never set out to harm or humiliate. I always tried to bring warmth and support to MasterChef, on screen and off.”

He also thanked his supporters at the time, concluding, “This has been brutal. For a working-class man with a direct manner, modern broadcasting has become a dangerous place. I was the headline this time. But I won’t be the last.”

The Lewis Silkin report also noted that in the course of its investigation, Wallace had been diagnosed with autism, and “the findings made should be viewed in the context of his neurodiversity.”

It added, “Mr Wallace accepts that his diagnosis may help to explain some of his actions, but he does not wish to hide behind it.”

Wallace suggested in his July response that he was considering pursuing a disability claim against the BBC, saying, “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.”