Ulrika Jonsson was left "seething" at Gregg Wallace's response to allegations of misconduct.
Ulrika Jonsson was left furious by Gregg Wallace's response to misconduct allegations
The 'MasterChef' host hit out at the accusations from a "handful of middle-class women of a certain age" that have led to him stepping away from the BBC programme but his defence has enraged Ulrika – who accused the star of making a "rape joke" during filming for an episode of 'Celebrity MasterChef'.
The 57-year-old TV star told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: "When he made reference to women of a certain age I was just seething... I was just absolutely wild.
"My first reaction was just, 'Keep digging, Gregg. Keep digging' because this shows the arrogance of a man who has zero introspection or self-awareness.
"When we refer to women of a 'certain age', they tend to be women my age, over 50, which is ironic because we are some of the hardiest women out there. When I was starting out, we had to put up with all sorts of sexist, misogynistic comments, and we put up with them."
The former 'Gladiators' host continued: "It's the height of arrogance for him to say, 'Oh it's this small bunch, it's this small cohort of people who are different.'
"No, Gregg, actually, it's not about being different. It's about being respectable and having some ability to not just read the room, but to read the world."
Wallace took to Instagram on Sunday (01.12.24) and defended himself by stating that there have been "13 complaints" from "over 4,000 contestants" during his 20 years on the cooking show.
The 60-year-old star said in a video: "I've been doing 'MasterChef' for over 20 years - amateur, professional and 'Celebrity MasterChef' - and I think in that time I have worked with over 4,000 contestants of all different ages, all different backgrounds, all walks of life.
"And apparently now, I'm reading in the paper, there's been 13 complaints in that time.
"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."
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