MasterChef judges Marcus Wareing and Monica Galetti have remained tight-lipped after their colleague Gregg Wallace stepped back from the BBC culinary show amidst allegations of misconduct.
However, the duo have previously made remarks about their experiences working alongside him. Wallace, 60, is currently embroiled in controversy, facing claims of inappropriate sexual comments from 13 individuals over a span of 17 years.
In anticipation of MasterChef: The Professionals' 15th series in 2023, Monica had spoken about the stress of working with Wallace turning Wareing grey, saying: "But I think we all get that for a year working with Gregg."
She also mentioned missing Wallace's humour until filming commenced, noting that she and Wareing often didn't grasp his jokes immediately, leading to repeated punchlines.
Wareing himself acknowledged occasional clashes with Gregg, admitting "it f***s it all up" when the presenter was involved in decision making.
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He stated: "If it was just me and Monica, then we're good at predicting the winner, but because Gregg is in the mix, it f***s it all up a bit. We have times where we do disagree but everyone's entitled to their point of view."
He went on to describe how he has mellowed over time, contrasting his current attitude with past fervour: "There are three votes and in the early days I'd be fighting like a cat in a bag but now it's like, 'Whatever.'"
However, despite not speaking out vocally, New Zealand-based chef Galetti seemingly lent her support to Wallace as she liked her embattled colleague's Instagram post.
Meanwhile, Gregg's co-star John Torode has also refrained from commenting on the recent accusations.
In a 2017 interview with The Sunday Mirror, he disclosed that despite their on-screen partnership, they were not friends off-camera, revealing: "It's funny, we've never been friends. We've not been to each other's houses... He's so OCD, he wouldn't know what to do.
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"He would build up the situation in his mind over three days, making himself ill, then argue with his wife and fail to show up. If I visited his home, he would feel a loss of control."
Gregg has refuted all allegations made against him. The presenter is accused of making "inappropriate sexual jokes", requesting phone numbers from female production staff, and undressing in front of or standing too close to women working on his shows.
In a video posted on his Instagram page, Wallace declared: "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. 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 20 years, 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?"
