By Danny Gutmann

Copyright dailyrecord

Former model Penny Lancaster has confessed to feeling “pity” for Gregg Wallace in the wake of allegations upheld against him earlier this year. Gregg Wallace and John Torode were once one of television’s most iconic duos, but after a series of complaints were validated, Wallace was dismissed from his role on MasterChef. Now that his tenure on the show has ended, Penny has provided further insight into the accusations she levelled against the broadcaster, telling womanandhome magazine: “Gregg Wallace’s behaviour towards me was misogynistic and arrogant.” However, despite the grave allegations, she conceded that her emotions towards him have now shifted to “pity”: “There’s a part of me that felt real pity for him, and also rather annoyed that the production company didn’t step in and deal with it.” She added: “It made me think, ‘This behaviour is not uncommon, and how many people have just turned their back to it?’ I should have written a long letter with my agent to the production company – perhaps had it not been lockdown. “I think I put it down to, ‘This is maybe out of character because of the stressful situation we’re all in right now,'” reports the Manchester Evening News . She also confirmed that she was one of those to contribute a statement to the recent investigation into Wallace’s conduct while on MasterChef, stating that when she heard of the other women coming forward, “it was only right that I helped and added to the weight of that investigation.” Following Penny’s recent remarks about the dismissed MasterChef star, her husband Rod Stewart had already spoken out. Taking to Instagram last November, he labelled Wallace an “ill-mannered bully” and launched a series of other accusations. Wallace has strongly rejected claims of bullying Penny, however numerous complaints against him were validated after an investigation by law firm Lewis Silkin earlier this year. The probe substantiated 45 of the 83 allegations, including one concerning “unwelcome physical contact,” three involving incidents of undress, and seven for bullying. In a statement from the BBC earlier this year confirming Wallace’s exit from MasterChef, the broadcaster said: “We welcome the publication of the findings by Lewis Silkin, following the investigation into the conduct of Gregg Wallace. “In light of these findings, (production company) Banijay UK and the BBC have agreed Mr Wallace’s return to MasterChef is untenable. The BBC has informed Mr Wallace we have no plans to work with him in future. “The investigation details a substantial number of allegations of inappropriate conduct spanning 19 years. This behaviour falls below the values of the BBC and the expectations we have for anyone who works with or for us. “Although the full extent of these issues were not known at the relevant time, opportunities were missed to address this behaviour – both by the production companies running MasterChef and the BBC. We accept more could and should have been done sooner. “We want to thank all those who took part in the investigation, including those who first raised concerns directly with the BBC in November last year. We apologise to everyone who has been impacted by Mr Wallace’s behaviour.”