Gregg Wallace has returned to social media months after his MasterChef exit (Picture: BBC/Shine TV)
Gregg Wallace has marked his return to Instagram, months after taking a break from the platform following his infamous ‘middle-class women of a certain age’ statement.
The former BBC presenter, 60, stepped back from MasterChef late last year following several complaints and accusations made against him – which he has denied.
He caused outrage when he responded to the allegations in a video shared on Instagram, saying they came from ‘middle-class women of a certain age’, before later uploading another video in which he issued an apology.
It had been alleged Wallace made ‘inappropriate sexual jokes’ and lewd comments on set, asked for the phone numbers of female members of production staff, and undressed in front of and standing ‘too close’ to women working on his shows.
He has also been accused of groping three people in different incidents, ‘mimicking sex acts’ and walking around the studio almost ‘completely naked’, with more than 13 people across a range of shows over a 17-year-period making complaints.
Wallace and his lawyers have fiercely denied the allegations, saying ‘it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature’.
Since the scandal emerged, Wallace has been taking a break from social media, with his daughter Libby running his health and lifestyle brand account.
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Wallace has remained off social media in recent weeks (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
He has now returned with an ‘easy n healthy’ protein pancake recipe for his followers.
Wallace didn’t appear in the video or share any commentary, but it is his first Instagram post since November 27.
Several followers took to the comments to welcome him back, many of which the account liked in response.
Before his social media break, Wallace regularly shared recipes and parts of his fitness routine on Instagram, as well as his daily schedules.
Over the years, several of his posts have sparked controversy including one in which he praised his and his wife’s slim figures while promoting his lifestyle brand.
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Wallace regularly posted gym selfies and his daily schedules on Instagram (Picture: Instagram/Gregg Wallace)
He also regularly posted gym selfies flexing his muscles after losing five stone since 2017, when he overhauled his lifestyle after being told he was at great risk of a life-threatening heart attack.
Wallace’s wife Anna has also remained quiet on the social media platform, posting cryptic quotes about positivity to her stories but refraining from sharing any main posts.
He had previously shared a response to the backlash he received after saying the allegations came from ‘middle-class women of a certain age’.
After immense backlash, including from the Prime Minister, who blasted the comments as ‘misogynistic’, Wallace apologised in another Instagram video.
Wallace was blasted for his ‘middle-class women of a certain age’ comment, which he later apologised for (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
He said: ‘I want to apologise for any offence that I caused with my post yesterday and any upset I may have caused to a lot of people. I wasn’t in a good head space when I posted it.
‘I’ve been under a huge amount of stress, a lot of emotion, I felt very alone, under siege when I posted it.
‘It’s obvious to me I need to take some time out now while this investigation is underway.
‘I hope you understand and I do hope that you will accept this apology.’
His return to social media comes after he issued a career update, revealing he is now selling frozen ready meals for £8 from his health and lifestyle company, GreggWallace.Health, which he founded after losing 5 stone.
He has also been replaced on the next series of Celebrity MasterChef by Grace Dent, who will be presenting the BBC cooking programme alongside John Torode.
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