BBC Masterchef host Gregg Wallace returned to TV this weekend, for the first time since the scandal surrounding his alleged misconduct broke.
The film, which was remade from a documentary filmed two years earlier, surprised some viewers who had tuned in to Channel 5 on Saturday. Gregg had appeared in interviews alongside actress Laila Morse, Countryfile’s Adam Henson and BBC meteorologist Tomasz Schafernaker when they discussed the infamous Big Freeze of 2018.
Temperatures dropped to -10C over a ten-day period as Siberian weather patterns descended on the UK, but hearts were as icy as the ‘brutal’ weather at X, as viewers wasted no time in voicing their disapproval of Gregg.
One wrote: “Gregg Wallace on Beast from the East? Bold move. His reputation has already been through a storm.” Another chimed in to exclaim: “Obviously C5 isn’t afraid of what he’s done.”
Gregg has always denied all allegations against him, but said he stepped back from the show while an investigation was carried out into his conduct. The repeat TV program was shown on C5 between 5.00pm and 6.15pm on Saturday 11 January and followed a decision by BBC not to show him again on their own channels until the case is closed.
One follower wrote: “So angry with sympathy for #GreggWallace”, pointing out that the allegations are about “a pattern of misogyny/sexual harassment of women in a workplace”.
“Gregg went way too far before, but this. His career is over,” said another.
However, some drew comparisons between the reaction to Gregg Wallace and the grooming gang scandal, which Labor has called for an inquiry into.
One X user wrote: “The left blew their stack over #GreggWallace and made some snarky comments about women on his shows, but mention the mass rape of 250,000 young white girls… …and you’re a racist, far right extremist.”
