TV presenter Gregg Wallace previously joked that his wife Anne-Marie Sterpini would be envious of him spending time with a dance partner on Strictly Come Dancing.
When Gregg, 60, competed on the show in 2014, he was paired with professional dancer Aliona Vilani, 40, but was eliminated after just two performances.
At the time, Gregg revealed that Anne-Marie, 38, whom he affectionately calls Anna, had reservations about him “spending so much time with another woman”.
In an interview with the Daily Star, Gregg shared: “My girlfriend was happy for me to do [Strictly] but she’s not sure how she’s going to feel about me spending so much time with another woman. She’d be happy if I was partnered with a man. One thing she’s already told me is that she can’t promise she won’t get jealous.”
Gregg echoed this sentiment in another interview, saying Anna told him he would be “jealous” if the situation were reversed, adding: “She knows I wouldn’t do anything but she said: ‘I can’t promise that I won’t be jealous’. She said: ‘You would be jealous if I were with a young man’.”
Gregg Wallace recently addressed the possibility of a romance with his Strictly Come Dancing partner Aliona Vilani, particularly after an old rehearsal clip showed Aliona expressing her distress when Gregg split his trousers, revealing his lack of underwear.
Writing in the Telegraph, Gregg insisted, “I know Strictly has spawned romances galore, but I absolutely love my Anna and can safely say there is not that sort of chemistry between me and [Aliona]”, reports the Mirror.
Interest in Gregg’s time on Strictly has been reignited following the announcement that he has temporarily stepped back from MasterChef amid a Banijay UK probe into alleged historical misconduct claims.
It was reported last week that Gregg faced accusations of making inappropriate sexual comments, which his lawyers categorically deny as ‘entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.
Reports have also emerged claiming that the BBC was made aware of complaints regarding Gregg’s alleged conduct during his stint on Strictly a decade ago. The Sun reports that “at least one member” of the Strictly team had expressed concerns to the shows executives back then, prompting internal meetings to discuss the matter.
Despite the complaints, Gregg continued on the series until being eliminated first in that season.
News broke last week that Gregg Wallace would be taking a break from MasterChef during an inquiry into claims by 13 individuals who allege he made improper sexual remarks. The alleged incidents span over a 17 years and involve various programmes.
In response to the news, Gregg declared in his video statement: “I have been doing MasterChef for 20 years – amateur, celebrity and professional MasterChef – and I think in that time I have worked with over 4,000 contestants of all different ages, all different backgrounds [and] all walks of life. And apparently now I am reading in the paper there’s been 13 complaints in that time.”
He further commented on the nature of the allegations by saying: “Now in the newspaper I can see the complaints coming from a handful of middle-class women of a certain age just from Celebrity Masterchef. This isn’t right. […] In over 20 years of television, can you imagine how many women, female contestants, on MasterChef have made sexual remarks or sexual innuendo. Can you imagine?”.
Subsequently, Wallace expressed regret for any upset caused by his words, conveying in a follow-up statement: “I want to apologise for any offence that I caused with my post yesterday and any upset I may have caused to a lot of people. I wasn’t in a good headspace when I posted it, I’ve been under a huge amount of stress, a lot of emotion, I felt very alone, under siege yesterday when I posted it. It’s obvious to me I need to take some time out, now, while this investigation is under way I hope you understand and I do hope you will accept this apology.”
Last week, Banijay UK issued a statement saying, “This week the BBC received complaints from individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with presenter Gregg Wallace on one of our shows. Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate.”
The statement continued by explaining Gregg Wallace’s temporary departure: “While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process. Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set.”
A BBC spokesperson also addressed the issue: “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.”