Gregg Wallace speaks out ahead of investigation into alleged inappropriate conduct
The 60-year-old star stepped back from hosting MasterChef in November amid allegations of inapprioriate behaviour on a range of programmes over 17 years and, ahead of the publication of a report carried out by law firm Lewis Silkin on behalf of the show's production company Banijay UK, Gregg has declared he will "not go quietly" as he claimed the report found him "primarily guilty of inappropriate language between 2005 and 2018".
In a statement, published on Instagram, he wrote: "I have taken the decision to speak out ahead of the publication of the Silkins report - a decision I do not take lightly.
"But after 21 years of loyal service to the BBC, I cannot sit in silence while my reputation is further damaged to protect others...
"I have now been cleared by the Silkins report (sic) of the most serious and sensational accusations made against me.
"The most damaging claims (including from public figures which have not been upheld) were found to be baseless after a full and forensic six-month investigation.
"To be clear, the Silkins Report exonerates me of all the serious allegations which made headlines last year and finds me primarily guilty of inappropriate language between 2005 and 2018.
'I will not go quietly. I will not be cancelled for convenience. I was tried by the media and hung out to dry well before the facts were established. The full story of this incredible injustice must be told and it is very much a matter of public interest...(sic)"
Gregg apologised "without reservation" as he now recognised that "some of [his] humour and language" was at times "inappropriate".
But he added: "But I was never the caricature now being sold for clicks.
"I was hired by the BBC and MasterChef as the cheeky greengrocer. A real person with warmth, character, rough edges, and all.
"For over two decades, that authenticity was part of the brand. Now, in a sanitised world, that same personality is seen as a problem."
The presenter recently revealed he had been diagnosed with autism and he has accused MasterChef bosses for failing to "protect" him from a "dangerous environment" amid his neurodiversity.
He wrote: "My neurodiversity, now formally diagnosed as autism, was suspected and discussed by colleagues across countless seasons of MasterChef. Yet nothing was done to investigate my disability or protect me from what I now realise was a dangerous environment for over twenty years. That failure is now being quietly buried."
The BBC and production company Banijay have declined to comment yet.
A spokesperson for the BBC said: "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."
And a Banijay spokesperson told Sky News: "We won't be commenting until our report is published."
They have suggested the report will be published later this week or next.
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