Nicky Haslam reveals summer trends that will make you appear 'common' - plus his rules for a classy picnic
The furniture designer and socialite, whose tea towels retailed for £50 in Selfridge's last Christmas, has contributed his verdict on summer etiquette rules ahead of the summer season in the UK.
Adding to a Sunday Times guide as a 'tastemaker', Haslam, 85, who is friends with Queen Camilla, revealed his 'ins' and 'outs' for the summer.
Among the Costwolds-based socialite's list of rules is the correct time of year to drink rosé wine - which he says is all year round.
Responding to the assertion that the variety of wine should not be served before June 1 or after August 31, Haslam vehemently objected to this logic.
'Absolute balls. It's delicious at all times of year, even midwinter, and particularly Léoube. It's the only wine I really like,' he said.
He also offered his views on 'picky bits' for dinner during the summer when dining al fresco or attending a picnic.
According to Haslam, there is no issue with indulging in picnics with friends - as long as none of the guests bring a knife and fork to eat their canapes.
He stated picnic participants should only bring foods that can be eaten with one's hands should be available in a spread, but food that lends itself to cutlery should be avoided altogether.
Drinks should be easy to access, and shouldn't require a screw or any on-grass mixing, he said. He suggested a home-mixed bloody Mary 'is very nice indeed'.
He said: 'All you want at a picnic are pork pies and scotch eggs — you don't want anything you can't eat with your fingers. Some cold chicken dipped into mayonnaise? That would be acceptable.
'But not a beetroot salad as you need a fork, or tomatoes as they just go squashy. Although tomatoes on the vine could be nice.'
He also shared his views on what are appropriate food contributions at a summer BBQ.
Haslam also jokingly took issue with guests bringing dishes to the table inspired by beloved chef Yotam Ottolenghi - as this could constitute 'showing off'.
Generally, guests should avoid bringing anything unless they are 'explicitly' asked to do so, he asserted.
Cake and wine are also banned, with the socialite saying it's only ever a 'bore' and 'faff' to the host, who wants to believe 'they've got everything right from the beginning.'
Haslam also shared his advice on summer style advice.
Asked whether he believed wedding guests should be allowed to attend a nuptial without a tie, Haslam had one definitive answer - 'absolutely not'.
'The very word 'formal' says you shouldn't. Being without a tie means the shirt collar disappears under jacket lapels and you look like you've been at the champagne already,' he said.
And lastly, neither fascinators nor 'souped-up headbands' are acceptable as replacements for a summer hat, said Haslam, who called the alternative headwear 'completely useless'.
He said the point of wearing a hat should remain functional - to shade one's face and keep flyaways at bay.
Last year, Haslam teamed up with Selfridges - a collaboration that could well have fallen victim to the list in years past - to release the 2024 tea towel which retails at £50 (up from £18 when it was first released in 2018).
Unveiling the towel, he declared that his controversial list should be varied enough to upset everyone in some capacity as he took aim at dairy free alternatives, destination weddings and yellow bags (in which the products will be sold by Selfridges).
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
‘There's an overwhelming bond of love': the grandparents whose kids rely on them to raise a family
When I first call Rita Labiche-Robinson, a 59-year-old retired project manager, she can't chat because she is with her nine-year-old granddaughter. Rita looks after Nia two days a week – Thursdays and Fridays. Today is a Tuesday, but they live together, along with Nia's mum, and Labiche-Robinson is too in the thick of it to talk. The three of them have been in the same home since March last year, when Labiche-Robinson's daughter and granddaughter moved back from Canada. 'While they're waiting to be housed, they're staying with me,' she says. On her designated days, she gets Nia up and takes her to school – a 10-minute walk from her home in Hackney, east London. At the end of the day, she picks Nia up, prepares her dinner and reads to her before bed. 'It keeps me active,' she says. Nia teaches her grandma about TikTok. Plus, as she sees it, if someone else is being paid to look after Nia, 'then I'm missing out on my granddaughter growing up'. Labiche-Robinson is one of millions of grandparents in the UK who, because of extended life expectancy, shifts in the nature of family life and cripplingly expensive childcare, are taking on a level of grandparenting that looks a lot more like parenting. A report from 2017 estimated that 9 million British grandparents – the 'grey army' – spent an average of eight hours a week helping to care for their grandchildren. A 2023 survey found that more than half of UK grandparents provide some sort of childcare during the working week, doing more than four hours a day on average. Of course, that still leaves nearly half who don't; I know many parents whose own parents don't lift a finger, let alone wipe a bum. And why should they? They have done their parenting years – and the northern lights aren't going to see themselves. But go to any stay-and-play or music class and there will be at least one grandparent rolling play‑dough or bashing a tambourine. Push a swing and you won't be more than a metre from one of the older generation pushing another. While I am writing this article, there is a grandparent downstairs in my own home, pretending to be a monster, so I can work. My daughter's grandparents, on both sides, have provided scheduled and ad hoc care since she was a baby. My partner and I couldn't have coped – financially or psychologically – without them. Via community groups and charities, word of mouth and a Guardian callout, I have heard from scores of grandparents who look after their offspring's offspring, doing school runs, sleepovers, film nights and baking. Several have moved house to be nearer their grandchildren, or had their children move closer to them off the back of the promise of childcare. So why do they do it? The main reason for many is simple: they enjoy it. Anita Pollack and Phil Bradbury moved out of Newham, east London, after 50 years to be near their grandchildren in Essex. 'Though we had both looked forward to grandchildren, neither of us anticipated the quite overwhelming bond of love grandparents have for the grandchildren,' Pollack says. Others take pleasure in being able to help their adult children. Having never known either of his grandfathers, Alan Foster, 75, from Bognor Regis, West Sussex, spent a month living with his daughter when his grandson was born, 'so she could ease back into work gradually and I could get to know my grandson before he started nursery'. He did it again when his second grandchild was born. There is also a recognition of the challenges facing parents today. 'We are in awe of the responsibilities our children have to juggle with working, plus the cost of childcare, so we are happy to give any help,' says Martin Roach, who is retired. Along with his wife, he has looked after various grandchildren every Wednesday – from 7am to 7pm – for six years. Some grandparents I speak to say that being around young children at an older stage of life gives them the space they didn't have with their own children. Maria, a retired childminder in Manchester, says: 'We don't have the added stress or pressures we had when our children were growing up. We have more time to just enjoy being with them.' Wendy, 77, who lives in Guildford and looks after her two grandsons once a week, says: 'Grandparenting is better than being a parent. There is less anxiety.' Of course, when grandparents are so deeply invested, it can lead to friction. There may be disagreements about values. After all, even the basics of how children are looked after now differ, sometimes drastically, from the way many in this generation brought up their own children. In a 2021 study of British grandmothers, some participants were taken aback by the expectation that children be constantly supervised. In my home, as well as many others, the consumption of sugar is a common source of tension. 'She's eaten well today,' my mum has reported on occasion, before listing off a cheese toastie, cake and 'a bit of Grandad's Twix bar'. Occasionally, screen time can be a jostle – just how many episodes of Bing is too many? Several grandparents report finding the prevailing style of 'gentle parenting' tricky. Take this example, from an anonymous Guardian reader: 'I have no issue with telling them if they have done something wrong. The four-year-old pushed her friend out of the way. My response was to make her say sorry to her friend straight away; her mum would rather talk to her and ask why she did it.' If grandparents are providing free childcare, is it reasonable to expect them to follow their own children's ideals when it comes to care? They aren't, after all, professional childcare workers. Despite this, the benefits outweigh any costs for all parties, says Anna Rotkirch, a Finnish sociologist who studies population ageing and families. 'If you have a strong, close relationship to a grandparent compared with those who don't, then you have fewer problems.' In times of upheaval – when parents divorce, for instance – 'if you have at least one strong bond to a grandparent, that will be a kind of resilience booster'. An older relative's home can be a raft of stability during difficult times with your parents. Denise Burke runs the thinktank United for All Ages with her husband, Stephen Burke. She does this as well as picking up her eight-year-old grandson, Ardy, from school once a week and having him overnight. 'It's not just about the childcare, it's what Ardy gets out of it,' she says. She cites trips to the local Indian restaurant or the pub. 'He gets on well with our friends … and I think it really does children good to be mixing with all ages.' For grandparents, taking care of children brings the possibility of stimulation, cognitive sharpening and structure in a potentially amorphous life after retirement. John Perry and his wife take their 10-year-old granddaughter, Eva, to and from school, a 10-minute drive from where they live in the Nottinghamshire town of Bingham, most days. He says Eva has helped demystify supermarket self-service checkouts. ''Oh, Grandad, just give it to me,' she'll say. She'll scan it all and then go: 'Grandad, give me your card.'' John L Bazalgette, who lives in south-west London, is 89 and has 13 grandchildren. He puts the benefits of looking after the children in terms of wisdom 'mutually developed between the different generations … Discovering that we may have similar feelings, triggered by trying to belong in a shared fragmented world, can lead to deep experiences of attachment and love.' While there have been suggestions that caring for grandchildren keeps people young, a 2022 study suggested that any 'rejuvenating effect' from looking after grandchildren is a myth. The idea of whether care feels like a burden is central. Carole Easton, a psychotherapist and the chief executive of the Centre for Ageing Better, says that, among her grandparent friends, 'there is a sense of obligation: 'I'm not sure how they would manage if we didn't do this''. It's not, she says, a complaint as much as 'an acknowledgment that there isn't a genuine choice in this'. Many grandparents will still be juggling their work lives, too. Olga Grünwald is a researcher based in the Netherlands who looks at the positive and negative experiences of grandparenting. She says that for this new 'sandwich generation' of grandparents balancing work and childcare, 'everyone says: 'Oh, it's gratifying,' but then there is a lot of burden and obligation as well'. An English teacher, who wishes to remain anonymous, says she suggested having her three grandchildren round every Friday night, as it means getting to have regular time with them. 'My job is very demanding and sometimes I am very tired at the end of the working week,' she says. 'But my grandchildren are just such a joy that they really lift me up – before I eventually collapse on the couch!' According to a small survey of grandparents by the childcare app Bubble in 2022, one in four reported retiring earlier to provide childcare. 'That's not a choice,' says Easton. 'We are losing older people from the workplace, which is causing damage to our economy and to the workplace in terms of experience and knowledge.' Many grandparents I speak to report frustration at slipping boundaries and supposedly part‑time arrangements becoming full-time. I'm sure I have sometimes over‑asked my parents and they have been too kind to say no. One anonymous retired grandmother says of her daughter: 'I have enabled her to earn a good wage. I received no payment of any description.' Frances Stadlen, a 76-year-old writer, gardener and baker in west London, had a discussion with her eldest son as soon as he said he was starting a family, explaining what her boundaries would be regarding childcare. Having been a stay-at-home mother when her children were growing up, she says: 'I was not willing to enter into any regular childcare commitment.' That is not to say she doesn't welcome her grandchildren into her home – her house is filled with toys and books – and she gives them her undivided attention when they are there, which, for each set of grandchildren, generally works out at one afternoon a week. However, she says: 'I see this phase of my life as a significant opportunity to achieve things I put to one side at an earlier phase. In society as a whole, I observe an undervaluation or active devaluation of the legitimate aspirations of older women to live disentangled from the domestic sphere, should they so wish.' Some grandparents report not having time for their own interests, or feeling selfish when they take time for themselves. Perry and his wife, Veronica, often travel to their static caravan in France. 'Rather than going for a long period, because of these commitments, we'll just go for a week at a time.' Not in the school holidays, though. 'We're just around to help out, you know, as and when we're needed.' Of course, grandparents wouldn't need to be so heavily involved if childcare costs weren't so prohibitively expensive. The cost of childcare in the UK is among the highest in the world. According to the children's charity Coram, summer holiday clubs this year cost parents an average of £1,075 a child – an average increase of 4% on 2024, with some areas seeing rises as high as 13%. If grandparents are backed into a corner because of the lack of affordable childcare, is something lost? Perhaps. While Paula Carter, a 59-year-old retired nurse, adores her grandchildren, 'and all the care means I have a close and loving relationship with them', she also feels that she misses out on 'just being the granny'. In Finland, where childcare is subsidised based on income and family size and capped at about €300 (£260) a month, 'there's this expression that grandchildren are the dessert of life … the benefits without the burden', says Rotkirch. 'Very intensive grandchild care is not always ideal for the grandparents or even a grandchild. When we talk about caring for grandchildren in the Nordics, it's an evening, or it's when the child is ill for a few days, but it's not every day for four hours.' High-quality, affordable childcare would mean that the older generation could swoop in with their stickers, sweets and stories about life before the internet out of choice rather than obligation. It would allow them to enjoy time with their grandchildren rather than being called upon to plug the gaps of a system not fit for purpose – which, according to most of the grandparents I speak to for this piece, can be very tiring. I know my parents love hanging out with my daughter and get something different and rewarding from taking care of her without her parents around. But they are no doubt glad that we now have more of an ad hoc arrangement than the previous one, which involved regular, full days: scrambling eggs at 8am and keeping a toddler amused until past 6pm. Easton, who regularly cares for her grandson and loves to do so, says she often jokes with her other grandparent friends that 'a woman shouldn't be allowed to have a baby until she's checked with the grandparents first'. The serious point here is that grandparents are now so often part of the caring package for young children that perhaps this should be a consideration. When Labiche-Robinson's daughter and granddaughter eventually move out, she will still be getting involved, she says: she is invested in raising Nia. 'She's my granddaughter. So I'm very attached her – to all of them, my children and my grandchildren … while I'm here, I might as well help the family.' Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Times
an hour ago
- Times
18 of the best Christmas markets in the UK for 2025
Who says you have to travel to the continent for an excellent Christmas market? The UK has a brilliant array to suit all tastes, whether you're looking for a fun family day out or some handy gift-shopping solutions. Expect magnificent, tall trees laden with twinkling lights, chalet-style stalls stretching out like miniature Alpine villages, and mulled wine and mince pies on tap as ordinary urban squares are transformed into winter wonderlands. Some of the larger examples, such as those in Birmingham and Edinburgh, also feature ice rinks — hosting a curious mix of wobbly beginners and aspiring Torvill and Dean wannabes — where Mariah Carey, Wham! and co belt out their holiday classics over the speakers. Others throw in walking trails, interactive exhibits or a funfair for good festive measure. This article contains affiliate links, which may earn us revenue Dates November 13 to December 23, 2025 Best for independent local sellersFor 30 years, Cardiff Christmas Market has been populating the pedestrian areas of the city centre with stalls showcasing the original work of its craftspeople and artists. Visitors can expect 70 stalls that rotate weekly; over 200 individual businesses selling a wide variety of goods will set up stalls here over the winter months. Wander round the Hayes, Trinity Street, St John Street and Working Street to find the perfect handmade stocking and come with an appetite — there's plenty of seasonal food and drink to dive into while you're there. Check out the taster stalls on Trinity Street, where new arrivals showcase their products. • Best hotels in Cardiff Dates November 14 to December 21, 2025 Best for a lavish settingThe splendid home of the Duke of Marlborough is transformed into a Christmas fantasy as dozens of wooden chalets spread around the Great Court. Once you've sampled the craft vodka, local cheeses and picked out a few gifts, take a stroll along the magical Illuminated Light Trail, which follows a path through the incredible palace gardens. Book tickets in advance for the opulent Palace rooms, which this year tells the story of Peter Pan in Neverland. • Best hotels in Oxfordshire Dates November 1 to December 24, 2025 Best for bratwurst and glühweinThe Birmingham Frankfurt Christmas Market in Victoria Square is the biggest German market outside Germany and Austria — and it's just as buzzing. Enjoy glühwein, German beer, bratwurst and pretzels while listening to live bands and carol singers. Take a spin on the ice rink after a ride on the big wheel and look out for one of the market's unmissable sights — and sounds — the singing Christmas moose (called Chris Moose, naturally). He'll be serenading passers-by in front of the Council House in the heart of the city. • Best hotels in Birmingham Dates November 13 to December 21, 2025 Best for Instagram-worthy photosYork's venerable streets somehow manage to get even prettier when the St Nicholas Fair transforms Parliament Street and St Sampson's Square into a Christmas fairyland. Wooden chalets are draped in lights and the smell of chestnuts is everywhere. It's just as festive in King's Square, where there's a vintage carousel, and the party continues in Shambles Market and Food Court — the perfect place to taste street food from around the world. If you want to rest your legs and need a bit of a break, look out for Thor's Tipi where you can warm up with a hot drink in cosy surroundings. • Best hotels in York Dates November 19 to December 22, 2025 Best for gothic splendourIn an enchanting setting in front of the Victorian gothic town hall, the medieval cathedral and the rebuilt Chester Market, Chester's Christmas market brings together 70 wooden cabins piled high with festive treats. As you gather around the giant Christmas tree in the square, fill up on rib-sticking hog roasts and hot dogs. • Best Christmas train rides in the UK Dates November 27 to December 14, 2025 Best for varietyBath Christmas Market is both of one of the country's biggest and most enchanting; more than 170 stalls are squeezed into the cobbled streets around the Roman Baths and Bath Abbey. Traders are chosen for the calibre of their products, with the food stalls coming from Bath and the southwest, and local charities taking part. Grab some craft ale as you settle in for the street entertainment provided by brass bands and local choirs under the sparkle of the Christmas lights displays. • Best hotels in Bath Dates November 13, 2025 to January 4, 2026 Best for sustainable stocking fillersBrits can't seem to get enough of German Christmas markets, and Southampton obliges with its German-style festival that takes over the Above Bar pedestrian zone and Bargate Street. Bratwurst and waffles — along with German beer and mulled wine — accompany live music from open-air bars and a roving Bavarian musician. It's the place for a green Christmas, with plenty of chances to pick up ornaments made from recycled materials. • Discover our full guide to the UKDates November 15 to December 23, 2025 Best for a helter skelterBelfast Christmas market brings a glittering glow to the City Hall gardens when dozens of wooden chalets are set up in the grounds. Get a taste of international as well as local treats from the food court as you wander around the stalls with their Christmas trinkets and gifts, and get a fabulous view of the city from the top of the helter-skelter. • Best hotels in Belfast Dates December 12-14, 2025 Best for stately home ambienceThis beautiful country estate in North Norfolk puts on a magical show for Christmas. Wander around the Lady Elizabeth Wing and enjoy the spectacle of 60 stalls vying for your attention. The best of Norfolk's artisan food and drink producers and craftspeople will tempt you with delicious and gorgeous gifts. • Best hotels in Norfolk Dates November 15, 2025 to January 4, 2026 Best for high-flying ridesAncient Edinburgh is tempting enough as it is for a long weekend, but it gets even better at Christmas when it majors on festive fun. Markets are spread all around the city centre — the European Market in the Mound Precinct, the Children's Market in the Princes Street Gardens, the Scottish Market in George Street, where there's usually an ice skating rink. You'll get your thrills from a ride on the Star Flyer or the Big Wheel. Time your visit with the Hogmanay celebrations that take over Princes Street. • Best things to do in Edinburgh at Christmas• Best Airbnbs in Edinburgh Dates November 2025 to January 2026 (exact dates TBC) Best for sheer scaleLondon never does anything by halves and its enormous Winter Wonderland, which sprawls across Hyde Park, is a prime example. Everything here is on a huge scale, from the outdoor ice-skating rink — the biggest in the UK — to the giant observation wheel and circus shows. Colourful lights fill the park, where 100 stalls offer temptation in the form of Christmas presents and festive food and drink. • Best affordable hotels in London Dates November 21 to December 22, 2025 Best for filling up with festive foodStep into Winchester Cathedral's Inner Close to become cocooned by twinkling lights and traditional wooden chalets selling gifts and fresh-from-the-oven mince pies. When you're not checking out the stalls in the British Crafts Village, try some of the amazing food on offer, including mac 'n' cheese at the Mac Shack and a hog roast and halloumi roll at Wild Garlic Catering — and listen out for the soothing sounds of the cathedral's choir services throughout November 8 to December 22, 2025 Best for a party atmosphereManchester's Christmas markets are always guaranteed to put on a show. There are eight of them spread across the city centre, bringing together more than 225 stalls for one giant party. Start in Albert Square and make your way along King Street up to the stalls at Exchange Square and Cathedral Gardens before meandering back to Piccadilly Gardens. In all, you'll find a pan-European flavour among the food stalls, along with a string of wooden chalets selling gifts from around the continent. • Best things to do in Manchester at Christmas• Best Airbnbs in Manchester Dates November 13 to December 31, 2025 Best for traditional family funGather around the giant Christmas tree in Nottingham's Old Market Square for a bird's-eye view of the festivities from the observation wheel while the kids ride the carousel. Pop-up bars and traditional wooden chalets line Long Row and Smithy Row, selling hot food and gifts, with more stalls and food and drink offerings filling the Christmas Village in Trinity Square. • Most affordable Christmas market breaks in Europe Dates November 29-30 and December 6-7, 2025 Best for entertainment More than 200 stalls fill Stratford-upon-Avon's historic streets during its Christmas market, which runs over two consecutive weekends. As you wander under twinkling lights and past wooden chalets selling Christmas gifts and seasonal snacks, you'll be entertained by roaming street entertainers to get you into the festive spirit. • Best UK hotels for a Christmas break Dates November 15 to December 23, 2025 Best for a stunning backdropWith the imposing columns of the neoclassical St George's Hall as its backdrop, Liverpool's Christmas market is a grand affair. The stalls, bedecked with fairy lights, are laid out in St John's Gardens, selling everything from personalised decorations to jewellery and assorted stocking fillers. Around it you have a choice of bars selling German beers, hot ciders and fruity cocktails. Children will enjoy Santa's village while an observation wheel will offer a bird's eye view of the festivities. • Best hotels in Liverpool Dates November 7 to December 23, 2025 Best for skiing vibesBristol city centre goes big on the Bavarian ski scene during its Christmas market in Broadmead piazza. Enjoy the rustic setting of Jäger Barn Bar while you can sip glasses of glühwein and mulled cider and tuck into plates of bratwurst, all to a soundtrack of live music. Book one of the ski gondolas or igloos for a festive party with up to six friends, and browse the stalls selling homemade crafts and goodies. • Best Airbnbs in Bristol Dates November 20 to December 19, 2025 Best for West Country waresWhen Devon's biggest Christmas market pitches up every year at Exeter Cathedral, you get free admission to this magnificent 12th-century structure as well as the chance to browse more than 100 stalls. Among the chalets selling Christmas gifts and handmade crafts are others showing off delicious West Country produce as well as pop-up bars and street-food stalls. Set aside time for a good look round the cathedral, with its awe-inspiring stone vaulted ceiling and medieval astronomical clock. • Best hotels in Exeter Additional reporting by Richard Mellor Have we missed any? Let us know in the comments
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Sacked MasterChef star Gregg Wallace faces 50 more sex misconduct allegations - as he issues blistering rant about the BBC
Gregg Wallace has launched a blistering rant against the BBC after being fired from Masterchef following a nine-month sexual-misconduct investigation. It comes as the BBC has received 50 new claims over the TV presenter, including allegations he pulled his trousers down in front of one worker on the show and groped another. An inquiry into the allegations is expected back imminently after being conducted by an independent law firm on behalf of the show's production company Banijay. Wallace denies the claims and has condemned the corporation in a scathing social media post saying he had been cleared of 'the most serious and sensational accusations'. The fresh claims come from people who say they encountered him across a range of shows with the majority alleging he made inappropriate sexual comments towards them, BBC News reports. Out of the 50 allegations, 11 women have accused him of inappropriate sexual behaviour, such as groping and touching. One woman described Wallace's behaviour 'disgusting and predatory' saying he pulled his trousers down in front of her in a dressing room. While another said she was left feeling 'absolutely horrified' when he groped her. One participant on the BBC's Saturday Kitchen claims during filming in 2002, Wallace put his hand under the table and onto her groin, before asking her: 'Do you like that?' Another claim come from a university student who said when she met him at a nightclub, he put his hand under her skirt and pinched her bottom when taking a photo with him. One woman says that at an industry ball in 2014 he groped her under her dress, while a junior worker says in 2012 he dropped his trousers without wearing underwear in front of her. Several men claim they witnessed Wallace making inappropriate sexual comments. Among the recent claims, a 19-year-old MasterChef worker said in 2022 she tried to raise concerns to the BBC about Wallace's comments about her body. A former policeman said that in 2023 he also tried to complain about Wallace's sexually inappropriate language. The BBC reports that most of the women who have come forward are young freelances who felt they were unable to complain without negative career repercussions. Writing on Instagram, Wallace said he had taken the decision to go public before the Silkins report was published as 'I cannot sit in silence while my reputation is further damaged to protect others'. The 60-year-old had stepped down from MasterChef while complaints from 13 women about historical allegations of misconduct were investigated. Wallace, who has worked for the BBC for 21 years, said 'the most damaging claims (including allegations from public figures which have not been upheld) were found to be baseless'. He said he had recognised 'that some of my humour and language, at times, was inappropriate'. 'I was hired by the BBC and MasterChef as the cheeky greengrocer. A real person with warmth, character, rough edges and all,' Wallace said. 'For over two decades, that authenticity was part of the brand. Now, in a sanitised world, that same personality is seen as a problem.' A source reportedly said Wallace had been cleared of the most high profile allegations that had been brought by Penny Lancaster and Kirsty Wark. 'But the BBC has made it clear there is no way back for him. He is devastated,' they said. The former greengrocer, who was recently diagnosed with autism, accused the BBC of doing nothing to 'investigate my disability or protect me from what I now realise was a dangerous environment for over twenty years'. And he vowed 'I will not go quietly' as he said the full 200 page report will not be published with the BBC instead going to release an executive summary. 'What really concerns me about the short summary is others who have been found guilty of serious allegations have been erased from the published version of events. I, and I'm sure the public, would like to know why?,' he said. A source told The Sun that Wallace was 'both furious and devastated' by the BBC's decision to axe him. The report is to be officially published on Thursday, but Wallace's legal team have claimed to have seen the report. A BBC spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Banijay UK instructed the law firm Lewis Silkin to run an investigation into allegations against Gregg Wallace. 'We are not going to comment until the investigation is complete and the findings are published.' In response to the latest allegations, a spokesperson for Wallace told the BBC: 'Gregg continues to co-operate fully with the ongoing Banijay UK review and as previously stated, denies engaging in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.' Wallace was initially bullish in the face of the allegations, taking to Instagram to say they mostly came from 'middle class women of a certain age'. He went on to ask: 'Can you imagine how many women on MasterChef have made sexual remarks or sexual innuendo?' Since then, several high-profile names - including TV presenter Ulrika Jonsson as well as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer - had condemned his remarks in public statements. The former greengrocer later apologised for the controversial comments which caused a PR storm. The under-fire presenter said of his middle class women slur: 'I wasn't in a good headspace when I posted it. I've been under a huge amount of stress, a lot of emotion.' He told the Mail in April had he how he stopped socialising with young people after first being disciplined by the BBC in 2018, because he was 'scared they would complain about him.' He was disciplined for inappropriate behaviour while working on a quiz show when he told a young runner on the final day of filming that he'd 'really enjoyed working with her, she was brilliantly clever, strikingly attractive and was going to do well'. Wallace said: 'They said that was improper because it was a personal remark and sent me on a course on how to communicate with younger people, which just confused me even more. 'I thought, 'F***, I don't have to do very much to get into a lot of trouble here.' Wallace stopped socialising with young people. When on location, he'd order room service rather than join them for dinner or a drink. 'It was at that point that I realised, in 2018, that I didn't have to do a lot to get into a lot of trouble. Talking about the aftermath in a new interview, he explained: 'My behaviours completely and utterly changed from 2018 and that's why there are no complaints in this big investigation after 2018. It changed me completely and I never got into trouble again. 'But the way I did it was to become a social recluse. I refused to do anything social at work, wouldn't go to the pub with anyone, to the point where when we went out on location everybody else would go out for dinner and I would stay in my hotel room. 'I wouldn't socialise. I stopped any social conversations with younger people that I didn't know very well.' Wallace recalled: 'There's some really good young people at work and they'd say 'Gregg we're all going for a drink are you gonna come?' 'And I'd say no I won't come. You guys make me nervous. The sensibilities of a sixty year old man are different to 25-year-olds and you live in a complaint culture that never existed. 'If I go out with you and I drink and offer an opinion, political or social, I'm scared you're going to complain about me. The anxiety levels were just extraordinary.'
