Kay Oliver: UK correspondent on Masterchef host Gregg Wallace stepping back amid sexual comment allegations

British broadcaster Gregg Wallace has stepped back from presenting Masterchef as allegations of sexual comments surface.

There's been 13 complaints from staff and celebrity guests over almost two decades – which Wallace denies.

The 60-year-old's posted videos online defending himself.

Europe Correspondent Kay Oliver told Ryan Bridge he's pointing the finger at middle class women of a certain age.

“A question to be answered as to why at this stage, if we’re talking about crisis management, he has gone out and put this online so that now millions of people can see this.”

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Kay Oliver our UK, you're correspondent, k good morning to you,
a defiant Mastershift judge going nowhere over there.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
Well, absolutely, good morning to you Ryan. And just to
say it seems it's a case of out of the
frying pan, straight into the fire for Greg Wallace. He
has posted a defiant online video which basically, over these
claims of inappropriate conduct, he is pointing a finger at
middle class women of a certain age. Now, he's also

(00:32):
said that he over nearly twenty years, has worked with
perhaps four thousand contestants and this is a tiny minority
of these women who are making these allegations of inappropriate
language and misogyny. And it would be perhaps a question
to be answered as to why at this stage, if

(00:52):
we're talking about crisis management, he has gone out and
put this online so that now millions of people and
see this rather defiant backlash coming through. There are questions
being asked right, left and center about this one, including
claims from another male former contestant that Master Chef has

(01:14):
a very toxic atmosphere and that what is being said
about Greg Wallace is really the tip of the iceberg.
That BBC are launching investigations right left and center. But
this seems to be a story that's going to run
and run at the.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
Moment here goodness may what about the crackdown on the
promised crackdown on migration from labor.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
Well, we've been hearing about this promised crackdown since they
came into office in July, and it seems that numbers
today have revealed twenty thousand small boat crossings since July,
with no sign of it really letting up. Brian Now
Labour's Pat McFadden speaking today. He's a government minister. He
has promised that the government is determined to tackle this issue.

(02:00):
When questioned, would really not give a target figure for
the numbers, so there is no specific number that they're
going to talk about. However, we do know that last
week there were figures revealed by the Office of National
Statistics that shows under the Tory watch, up until June

(02:20):
twenty twenty three, nine hundred thousand people came into this country.
And the feeling is if these numbers continue to grow
like this, by the year twenty forty six, we will
have fifteen extra cities the size of Birmingham needed to
accommodate all the people that are over here. So obviously

(02:42):
this is still very much a political hot potato and
we wait to see what action they will take.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
Certainly sounds like a ka Thank you very much for that,
kol of our UK europe correspondent.

Speaker 2 (02:52):
For more from Earlily Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live
to News Talks it'd be from five am weekdays, or
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