Max George has admitted his disappointment after the BBC pulled the plug on the 2024 MasterChef Christmas specials amid ongoing sexual misconduct allegations concerning Gregg Wallace.
The MasterChef judge and chef, 60, announced he was stepping back from presenting the show after nearly 20 years last week while an investigation into his alleged misconduct is carried out.
He was accused by 13 people of ‘wrong’ and inappropriate ‘sexualised’ behaviour during filming and allegedly walking naked on to a set with only a sock on his penis, while three different women working in production have also accused him of groping them on set.
Max, 36, had been set to appear on the first festive MasterChef episode, alongside Emmerdale actor Amy Walsh, reality star Luca Bish and comedian Shazia Mira.
Following the BBC’s decision to pull the Christmas specials from airing, The Wanted star took to his Instagram on Wednesday evening to admit he was disappointed, but acknowledged it was a ‘very serious investigation’.
Sharing a photo of him on the show in the classic MasterChef white apron, he wrote: ‘Was looking forward to Masterchef Xmas special, but obviously there are much more important matters going on.
Max George (pictured) has admitted his disappointment after the BBC pulled the plug on the 2024 MasterChef Christmas specials amid ongoing sexual misconduct allegations concerning Gregg Wallace
The MasterChef judge and chef, 60, announced he was stepping back from presenting the show after nearly 20 years last week while an investigation into his alleged misconduct is carried out (pictured)
He was accused by 13 people of ‘wrong’ and inappropriate ‘sexualised’ behaviour during filming, allegedly walking naked on to a set with only a sock on his penis, while three different women working in production have also accused him of groping them on set (pictured on show in 2021)
As his followers flooded the comments section with commiserations and support, one person wrote: ‘It’s so frustrating that because of a certain individual, people on the show such as yourself don’t get to share their appearance on it with us’.
He responded saying: ‘it’s ok! I’m sure I’ll be cooking again soon .. it’s a very serious so we have to respect that ❤️’.
But, Max – who previously appeared on Celebrity MasterChef last year and placed fourth – also implied that he hadn’t experienced anything negative on the show, as fan wrote: ‘I’m so sorry about what happened, hope your okay x’,
The singer simply replied to the comment: ‘it’s nothing to do with me. ❤️’
He was not alone in lamenting the special being axed, with Luca, 23, also taking to his Instagram to say he was ‘gutted’ over the decision and declare: ‘Christmas is cancelled’.
The reality star wrote: ‘Christmas is cancelled. Gutted our Christmas special has been put on hold but hope to be on your screens again soon⏳’.
On Tuesday, the BBC announced that two celebrity Christmas specials, a Celebrity MasterChef Christmas Cook Off and a Strictly Festive Extravaganza, have been pulled from its festive schedule.
The second programme axed was called called MasterChef Meets Strictly Festive Extravaganza, and was due to feature Strictly Come Dancing’s Amy Dowden, Gorka Marquez, Kai Widdrington and Nancy Xu, with Motsi Mabuse setting a challenge.
Following the BBC’s decision to pull the Christmas specials from airing, The Wanted star took to his Instagram on Wednesday evening to admit he was disappointed, but acknowledged it was a ‘very serious investigation’ (pictured on show last year)
Sharing a photo of him on the show in the classic MasterChef white apron, he wrote: ‘Was looking forward to Masterchef Xmas special, but obviously there are much more important matters going on
The decision appeared to mark a major U-turn for the BBC, after it previously said it would continue airing all filmed episodes of MasterChef.
However, the corporation said the celebrity Christmas specials are ‘obviously a different type of show’ as it justified its decision to axe them.
It is understood the celebrities involved are being spoken to about the reasons behind the change in programming, and that no changes will be made to iPlayer content.
Max’s post comes just hours after fellow MasterChef judge John Torode broke his silence on the ongoing controversy, as he insisted he ‘loves being part of’ the show and ‘will continue to be a part of it’.
The chef, 59, released a statement on Instagram on Tuesday afternoon, where he said he found the recent reports ‘truly upsetting’ and the ‘thought of anyone who has appeared on our show not having a brilliant experience is awful to hear’.
However, he notably failed to speak up in support of his embattled co-host and Gregg has said to be ‘furious’ with his former co-star for not publicly supporting him and unfollowed him and his wife Lisa Faulkner on Instagram.
John, who has presented the BBC One cooking show alongside Gregg for the last 19 years, said: ‘Since last Friday, I have been away filming MasterChef overseas. I love my job, and I love MasterChef. I love being part of it and will continue to be part of it.
‘During the last few days, I’ve been trying to make the best cookery programme, so being busy making the show and caring for our contestants has allowed me little time to think about anything else, but that has been hard.
One person wrote: ‘It’s so frustrating that because of a certain individual, people on the show such as yourself don’t get to share their appearance on it with us’, with Max replying: ‘ it’s ok! I’m sure I’ll be cooking again soon .. it’s a very serious so we have to respect that ❤️’
But, Max – who previously appeared on Celebrity MasterChef last year and placed fourth – also implied that he hadn’t experienced anything negative on the show, saying: ‘it’s nothing to do with me. ❤️’
He was not alone in lamenting the special being axed, with Luca, 23, (pictured) also taking to his Instagram to say he was ‘gutted’ over the decision and declare: ‘Christmas is cancelled’
On Tuesday, the BBC announced that two celebrity Christmas specials, a Celebrity MasterChef Christmas Cook Off and a Strictly Festive Extravaganza, have been pulled from its festive schedule (John and Gregg pictured)
‘But as I hope everyone appreciates, there is an investigation underway, which I fully support, so I cannot make any further comment at this stage, and I hope that you all understand and respect my silence on the matter moving forward.’
Despite having worked together since 2005, Gregg and John endured a tumultuous friendship behind the scenes of the show, even while appearing to have strong chemistry in front of the camera.
Though John was Gregg’s best man for his fourth wedding to Anne Marie in 2016, the duo have in the past admitted they had a spat so awful that filming for MasterChef had to be called off, while John has confessed they’ve ‘never really’ been friends.
And their relationship will surely have been made even more difficult after John’s wife Lisa claimed Gregg made ‘rude joke after rude joke’ while MasterChef was being filmed.
It comes after the BBC was criticised for showing a semi-final of the current series of MasterChef: The Professionals despite the ongoing storm surrounding its co-host Gregg.
The former greengrocer has stepped back from the BBC’s MasterChef while allegations into alleged misconduct are investigated. Gregg’s lawyers say ‘it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature’.
But in another blow for Gregg, Channel 5 has removed Gregg Wallace’s Big Weekends Away from its streaming platform My5 after complaints of the presenter’s inappropriate behaviour during his time filming the show.
As well as the BBC’s culling, Channel 5 has also pulled planned repeats of Gregg Wallace’s Copenhagen Christmas Market and Gregg Wallace’s Lapland Christmas Adventure from its festive schedule.
Max’s post comes just hours after fellow MasterChef judge John Torode broke his silence on the ongoing controversy, as he insisted he ‘loves being part of’ the show and ‘will continue to be a part of it’ (pictured with Greg in 2017)
The chef, 59, released a statement on Instagram on Tuesday afternoon, where he said he found the recent reports ‘truly upsetting’ and the ‘thought of anyone who has appeared on our show not having a brilliant experience is awful to hear’
Despite having worked together since 2005, Gregg and John endured a tumultuous friendship behind the scenes of the show, even while appearing to have strong chemistry in front of the camera (pictured in August)
Though John was Gregg’s best man for his fourth wedding to Anne Marie in 2016, the duo have in the past admitted they had a spat so awful that filming for MasterChef had to be called off, while John has confessed they’ve ‘never really’ been friends (pictured in 2011)
Allegations were raised by staff members about Gregg’s behaviour on Channel 5’s Gregg Wallace’s Big Weekends during a BBC News investigation, with producer Rumpus Media saying was investigating allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’.
One woman said that while making Gregg Wallace’s Big Weekends in 2019, he became ‘fascinated’ by her relationships with women and wanted to know the ‘logistics’ of her sex life.
Another woman said that while working on the Channel 5 programme at the same time, Wallace’s conversation often revolved around sex, including spanking and domination.
A third woman who worked on the show, who BBC News called Amanda, said Gregg allegedly showed her photos of a woman in her underwear while they were travelling in a car together.
She also recalled how he allegedly took off his top and said ‘let me give you a fashion show’ in front of her and a male colleague when trying on outfits in his hotel room after filming had wrapped for the day.
Her colleague then left the room and she told BBC News: ‘It’s weird to be alone in a room with a topless stranger.’
Another person who worked with him on Channel 5 travel show, claimed that he treated women dismissively.
She told The i: ‘I remember him being really unbelievably rude and obnoxious through the entire shoot. He was extremely rude and misogynistic… He would dismiss directions from the female producers.’
Channel 5 said it took the allegations ‘extremely seriously’ and that the production company Rumpus was looking into the claims. Rumpus said: ‘We do not tolerate inappropriate behaviour on our productions.’
It follows ongoing backlash after Gregg took to Instagram on Sunday with a furious rant in which he accused the allegations of being made by a handful of ‘middle-class women of a certain age’.
Gregg issued an apology on Monday for any ‘offence’ or ‘upset’ he caused with his statement over the weekend, saying: ‘I wasn’t in a good headspace when I posted it, I’ve been under a huge amount of stress, a lot of emotion, I felt very alone, under siege yesterday when I posted it.’
He added: ‘It’s obvious to me I need to take some time out now while this investigation is under way. I hope you understand and I do hope you will accept this apology.’
His apology came after it sparked a backlash, with Downing Street saying his response to the accusations was ‘inappropriate and misogynistic’.
Others have branded the video a ‘classic’ non-apology.
The former greengrocer has stepped back from the BBC’s MasterChef while allegations into alleged misconduct are investigated. Gregg’s lawyers say ‘it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature’ (pictured in 2017)
The presenter apologised after his controversial comments on Instagram over the weekend caused another PR storm, blaming ‘a huge amount of stress’ and ‘a lot of emotion’ for the error.
The U-turn came hours after an insider told MailOnline he had ‘gone rogue’ and was ignoring ‘all advice’ about how to salvage his TV career following the scandal.
Gregg said: ‘I want to apologise for any offence that I caused with my post yesterday and any upset I have caused to a lot of people’.
TV psychologist Jo Hemmings said: ‘When is an apology, not an apology? Gregg Wallace backtracking on his misogyny to salvage his career, but no regrets about his long-term inappropriate behaviour’.
