‘We call men like Gregg Wallace out but can’t expect them to be sorry’

Another week, another celebrity on the brink of canceldom, and this time it’s smug Gregg Wallace, who is rightfully getting a good charring.

And as if the MasterChef presenter wasn’t in enough hot water already – facing various allegations of inappropriate behaviour and harassment over his 17-year tenure on the cooking show – his latest online tirade has ensured a complete boil-over.

Now, even the prime minister of Britain has got involved, with Keir Starmer condemning the goony former grocer as ‘completely inappropriate and misogynistic’ for blaming ‘middle-class women of a certain age’ for his MasterChef demise.

Wallace’s deflection of any alleged unsavouriness was of particular note on his Insta rant – as was his seemingly genuine irritation at all the fuss. After all, he reminded us, out of more than 4,000 contestants he met from all walks of life on the show, there have only been 13 complaints. Only 13 – sheesh! And of course, they would have to be from that pesky menopausal lot (which, metaphorically speaking, are only worth about a crumb from one of Wallace’s beloved puddings).

Indeed, viewers of the cooking programme may be familiar with his penchant for sweet treats and his cheeky-chap demeanour, but what we weren’t so aware of were his other alleged idiosyncrasies, such as roaming around on set naked with a sock on his penis; tawdry joke-telling and a fondness for groping crew members. None too appetising, I think you’ll agree.

But hands up who is actually shocked at the recent allegations against Wallace – many, may I add, made by high-profile media women – which also included asking for the phone numbers of female members of production staff, and undressing in front of and standing ‘too close’ to women working on his shows? Or, for that matter, regaling someone who really didn’t want to hear it about his favourite sex act. (Sorry for your troubles, Kirstie Allsopp.)

Well – as someone who fits the description of a middle-class woman of a certain age – not me, that’s for sure. I can’t count how many times as a young journalist, I felt deeply uncomfortable and objectified in the company of older male colleagues who, like Wallace, openly leered at or made lewd jokes to my mortified 20-something self. And yes, on at least one occasion I can think of, even groped like he allegedly did too.

When I raised my disgust at one show of particularly handsy behaviour by a senior member of staff, it was dismissed as nothing but fun banter. I was told there was no harm in it, which was ironic, given the fact that I was in tears. That grubbiness was insidious and readily accepted as part of the gig – young women like me were just expected to grin and bear the embarrassment and intimidation of it all.

A couple of decades later, and while we can identify this as harassment (and thinly veiled misogyny), you can still throw a tart today and hit the type – and not just in the media either. They walk among us all. And while it may not involve laying a finger on a person, any behaviour that makes someone feels intimidated, shamed and degraded because of their sex is predatory in my book. But back to our follicly challenged Peter Pan.

Wallace is a poster boy for plenty of men of his generation who simply think they are God’s gift, and who have had the proverbial run of the kitchen for decades. The thing is, like so many others of his ilk, Gregg is as closed as a bad clam when it comes to his self-awareness – despite his claims to the contrary, which he explained in detail in his now infamous ‘Day in the Life’ Telegraph article, which became a viral sensation when it was mercilessly mocked online back in February.

In it, he describes himself as ‘quite the expert’ when it comes to journalling, goalsetting and manifesting – none of which seem to have resulted in any real personal growth. Don’t forget, this is a man who thinks he is an amateur historian because of his two-hour a day Total War Saga gaming habit; who walks, never runs, on a treadmill (remember, no sweating allowed); and became a reluctant older father on condition that the parenting came with home help – because God forbid he’d chip in and lift a finger himself.

This is the same man who once said he only wanted to date women who made him feel ‘like riding in my Jag with the roof down’ when he walked into restaurants with them (gag reflex duly initiated). And although I fear his career may be toast – I’m not saying Wallace is a complete bad egg. But his lack of insight or remorse for anything he did wrong is proof that while we can call men like this out, don’t expect them to be genuinely sorry.

I’ll leave you with this not-so-tasty titbit. Comedian Katy Brand is another who has reflected on Wallace’s unsavoury nature recently, by recalling her experience on Masterchef in 2013. On sampling her dish, he grinned: ‘Left to my own devices, I’d probably munch the living daylights out of your little tart.’ Now if that doesn’t leave a seedy aftertaste…