Gregg Wallace 'Sues The BBC Over His Sacking From MasterChef
The former presenter, 60, is said to have lodged his lawsuit at London's High Court and has vowed he will 'not go quietly'.
Gregg Wallace was sacked following a series
of misconduct allegations relating to his time on the series.
The host is now seeking the release of
hundreds of pages of secrets documents which he believes will help clear his
name and earn back millions in lost earnings.
It is also claimed his lawsuit could pave the
way for Gregg Wallace to launch a multi-million pound disability claim against
the BBC.
A source told The Sun: 'Things
could go nuclear. Gregg previously applied to see all the paperwork concerning
him but was blocked by the BBC.
'This is why he's had to go legal. This is
the first, major step towards Gregg taking serious action.
'Gregg's team believe that once they have the
correspondence in front of them their case - and next steps - will become
clear. For the BBC, it's an HR nightmare waiting to happen.'
The insider also said Gregg Wallace is preparing to
launch a disability claim which would likely focus on his autism with which he
was diagnosed in January.
He previously said nothing was done to investigate his
'neurodiversity' while he was working on MasterChef.
'My neurodiversity, now formally diagnosed as autism, was
suspected and discussed by colleagues across countless seasons of MasterChef,'
he said in a statement.
'Yet nothing was done to investigate my disability or
protect me from what I now realise was a dangerous environment for over 20
years. That failure is now being quietly buried.'
A BBC spokesperson told the Daily Mail: 'We have not been
formally notified of any legal proceedings so at this stage we are unable to
comment.'
The Daily Mail has also contacted representatives of
Gregg Wallace for comment.
It comes after BBC Director-General Tim Davie
admitted 'we may see more things coming out' after he was asked for assurance
there won't be another 'scandal of BBC talent abusing their position'.
Australian-born chef John Torode also lost his job on the
show after two decades over allegations that he used the N-word.
Gregg stepped down from the hit BBC cooking show after
complaints were made about his behaviour and 45 of those 83 complaints were
upheld following a report into his conduct. In total, 41 people complained.
The review concluded that the 'majority of
the substantiated allegations against Wallace related to inappropriate sexual
language and humour'.
It added that 'a smaller number of allegations of other
inappropriate language and being in a state of undress were also
substantiated', with 'one incident of unwelcome physical contact' also
substantiated.
The former Eat Well for Less? presenter told The Sun that
while he didn't deny being guilty of some of the claims, he believed things had
been 'perceived incorrectly'.
Gregg claimed that he had worked with around 4,000
people, meaning that just 0.5 per cent of those he has worked with 'found fault
with me'.
He said his actions were the result of learned behaviour
and workplace culture and claimed that his recent autism diagnosis also played
a role.
'I know I am odd. I know I struggle to read people. I
know people find me weird. Autism is a disability, a registered disability,' he
said.
Gregg has previously said he felt the BBC failed to
provide enough support for his condition during his 20 years working on
MasterChef.
'My neurodiversity, now formally diagnosed as autism, was
suspected and discussed by colleagues across countless seasons of MasterChef,'
he said.
'Yet nothing was done to investigate my disability or
protect me from what I now realise was a dangerous environment for over 20
years.'
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