By Danny Gutmann

Copyright glasgowlive

Penny Lancaster has confessed to feeling “pity” for Gregg Wallace following the upholding of allegations 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 upheld, Wallace was dismissed from his role on MasterChef.

Now that his tenure on the show has ended, Penny has shed more light on the accusations she levelled against the presenter, telling woman&home magazine: “Gregg Wallace’s behaviour towards me was misogynistic and arrogant.”

Despite the grave allegations, she revealed 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.”

Further elaborating on her “pity” for the presenter, 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 who gave a statement to the recent investigation into Wallace’s conduct while on MasterChef, stating that when she heard of other women stepping forward, “it was only right that I helped and added to the weight of that investigation.”

Following Penny Lancaster’s recent remarks about the dismissed MasterChef star, her husband, Rod Stewart, already expressed his views. Last November, he took to Instagram to label Wallace an “ill-mannered bully” and launched a series of other insults.

Wallace has categorically denied bullying Penny, but several complaints against him were substantiated after an investigation by law firm Lewis Silkin earlier this year.

The probe upheld 45 of the 83 complaints, including one related to “unwelcome physical contact,” three incidents involving undress, and seven instances of bullying.

Earlier this year, the BBC released a statement confirming Wallace’s exit from MasterChef, stating: “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.”

Someone Like Me by Penny Lancaster (£20, HB, Bloomsbury) is out now. The November issue of woman&home is on sale September 25.