Ulrika Jonsson says Gregg Wallace ‘made rape joke’ on set of MasterChef

She said the alleged remark made another female contestant 'really distressed'

On Thursday, it was announced that Wallace would be stepping away from MasterChef after almost 20 years whilst an investigation is carried out into allegations of historic misconduct.

This was followed by a report from BBC News which has detailed claims from 13 people, including broadcaster Kirsty Wark, about Wallace's conduct from 2005 to 2022.

Now, Jonsson, who appeared on Celebrity MasterChef in 2017, has recalled one occasion in which another female contestant was "really distressed" after Wallace made an alleged "rape joke."

The TV personality told the Telegraph she had seen the woman walk off set and asked her what had happened.

She told the publication: "She then told us that Gregg Wallace had made a rape joke. She was really distressed about it.”

After telling Jonsson what the joke was, she went to speak to producers on the show, who subsequently spoke to Wallace, according to Jonsson.

She continued: “After a while he came up…and he apologised. He could hardly get his words out... He was apologising, and he had tears in his eyes."

Jonsson said she believed Wallace should simply not have told the joke in the first place. The incident was handled by managers on set, and was not reported to bosses at production company Banijay, which produces the MasterChef programmes.

In a statement on Thursday, Banijay said Wallace was co-operating with their investigation into the historic allegations.

His lawyers have said it is entirely false that the presenter engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.

In a video on Instagram posted on Thursday night, Wallace thanked "all the people getting in touch, reaching out and showing their support."

"It's good of you - thank you very much," he said.

Speaking to BBC News, former Newsnight presenter Wark claimed Wallace told "sexualised" jokes during her time on Celebrity MasterChef in 2011.

She said there were two occasions on which Wallace relayed stories and jokes of a "sexualised nature" in front of contestants and crew.

Wark said she felt the alleged comments were "really, really in the wrong place."

Meanwhile, Sir Rod Stewart took to social media to accuse Wallace of "humiliating" his wife Penny Lancaster during filming of Celebrity MasterChef.

In a post on Instagram, he described the presenter as a "tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully," adding: "Karma got ya."

Wallace has featured on various BBC shows during his career, including Saturday Kitchen, Eat Well For Less, Supermarket Secrets, Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals, and was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2014.

He was made an MBE for services to food and charity last year.

A BBC spokesman said: "We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them.

"We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.

"Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them."