Gregg Wallace apologises for 'middle-class women' comment

BBC/Shine TV

MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace has apologised for suggesting allegations against him came from "a handful of middle-class women of a certain age".

"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," he said in a video posted on Instagram.

"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, yesterday, when I posted it.

"It's obvious to me I need to take some time out while this investigation is under way. I hope you understand and I do hope that you will accept this apology."

Wallace's apology came after an earlier video, uploaded on Sunday, in which he said there had been "13 complaints" from "over 4,000 contestants" he had worked with in 20 years on the BBC show MasterChef.

One of his accusers said the comments showed he "clearly hasn't learnt his lesson", while another said he wrongly "seems to be saying he's the victim of classism".