Gregg Wallace’s wife Anne-Marie Sterpini looked downcast as she was seen for the first time since sexual misconduct allegations were made against him.
The under-fire presenter, 60, is facing claims from at least 13 women who have accused him of inappropriate behaviour, including roaming around on set naked with a sock on his penis, inappropriate jokes and groping crew members.
His wife Anne-Marie, who is more than 20 years his junior, broke cover on Monday as she filled her car with petrol at a service station in Kent.
Her appearance came as her husband issued an apology after facing backlash against his comments that ‘middle class women of a certain age’ are behind complaints against him.
The celebrity chef apologised for ‘any offence I caused’ after his controversial comments on Instagram over the weekend.
The former greengrocer has stepped back from the BBC’s MasterChef while allegations into alleged misconduct are investigated.
Gregg Wallace’s wife Anne-Marie Sterpini looked downcast as she was seen for the first time since sexual misconduct allegations were made against him
Her appearance came as her husband issued an apology after backlash against his comments that ‘middle class women of a certain age’ are behind complaints against him
In a fresh video on social media posted this afternoon, the under-fire chef said: ‘I want to apologise for any offence that I caused with my post yesterday and any upset I 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 [and] under siege yesterday when I posted it. It’s obvious to me I need to take some time out now while this investigation is underway.
‘I hope you understand and I do hope that you can accept my apology.’
Gregg’s lawyers say ‘it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature’.
Gregg stepped down from MasterChef last week after it was revealed that 13 people, including Newsnight host Kirsty Wark, accused him of ‘wrong’ and inappropriate ‘sexualised’ behaviour during filming.
He stands accused of making ‘inappropriate sexual jokes’, 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. He allegedly walked naked on set with only a sock on his penis.
Former Celebrity MasterChef contestants say they raised concerns about Wallace’s alleged behaviour as far back as 12 years ago, with actress Emma Kennedy – who won the series in 2012 – alleging she had witnessed Wallace ‘grope’ a camera assistant during a photo shoot that year.
His wife Anne-Marie, who is more than 20 years his junior, broke cover on Monday
She was spotted filling up her care with patrol at a service station in Kent
The grocer turned broadcaster appeared to make things worse yesterday when he posted a series of incendiary videos online where he hit back at critics by saying: ‘Can you imagine how many women on MasterChef, female contestants, have made sexual remarks or sexual innuendo?’
Gregg had said: ‘I’ve 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, all walks of life.
‘Apparently now, I’m reading in the paper, there’s been 13 complaints in that time. 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’.
But his posts caused outrage and were branded ‘shocking’ and laced with ‘thinly veiled misogyny’ – and did not touch on the sexual allegations made by numerous MasterChef celebrities, producers and contestants on the show he left last week.
One insider told MailOnline today: ‘Gregg has gone rogue and ignored all advice’. Another expert said: ‘He needs to shut up’.
Since allegations made against Gregg, his TV aide has failed to address the ongoing dispute and axing of his cohost from the show
Ulrika Jonsson, who competed on Celebrity MasterChef in 2017, saying she was ‘seething’ after seeing the comments – while Kirstie Allsopp described his response as ‘unacceptable’.
And Mark Borkowski, one of the UK’s leading PR gurus and crisis managers, told MailOnline today that Wallace was ‘only listening to his own ego’ instead of advice, adding: ‘The first law of PR in a crisis is never let your emotions rule your Instagram.’
There are also allegations related to four other shows Wallace worked on.
There are 13 people, including Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark, who have formally complained about Wallace’s behaviour over a 17-year period across five shows, between 2005 and 2022.
