MasterChef star Gregg Wallace has responded to allegations of “inappropriate sexual comments” he allegedly made to a female member of staff at the BBC in 2018.

It has been reported the 59-year-old made “inappropriate sexual comments” on the game show Impossible Celebrities, according to The Sun.

In a now-deleted video, Gregg took to Instagram to address the accusations.

He shared with his 195k followers, as reported by The Metro: “With reference to what’s in the newspapers, these allegations were investigated by the BBC six years ago – and my comments were found to be not sexual. I repeat not sexual. Thank you.

“Something else that I feel very strongly about, strong enough to be on here, nobody six years ago or since has accused me of flirting with anyone or hitting on anyone, and that is important to me, and I say this for my wife Anna, who I have been true to and madly in love with since the day I met her.

“I don’t want anyone to misunderstand this and make it look like I was flirting with somebody. Nobody accused me of that and I never have.”

Gregg's response comes after a source told The Sun: “There are questions to be asked about the decision to allow Gregg to continue on MasterChef despite these previous incidents.

“The BBC say they are keen to clear up issues around workplace culture but have allowed Gregg to remain on a flagship show despite allegations about his conduct.”

Recommended reading:

The source added: “Gregg was accused of making inappropriate comments to a younger, female member of the production team.

“He is said to have been boasting about his sex life with his partner at the time. At one point, Gregg was also accused of taking his top off in front of the woman which felt inappropriate.

"Gregg appeared to think it was all just banter and is also said to have made some comments in front of the live audience.

“The team working on the show were mortified and told BBC top brass what had happened.”

The insider also shared: “The BBC took immediate action and Gregg was called in to have a meeting with them. He made it clear that he didn’t mean anything by what he said but he was read the riot act and told to change his behaviour.”

Newsquest has contacted representatives for Gregg and the BBC for comment.