I’ve experienced Gregg Wallace’s grim behaviour, but I blame his bosses too
It shouldn’t have taken powerful “middle class women of a certain age” like Kirsty Wark and Aasmah Mir speaking up for BBC bosses to do something about Gregg Wallace, says Alys Denby
I have met Gregg Wallace and, since he has retained lawyers, I’d probably better leave it there. Let’s just say his approaches had nothing to do with my personal charms as a then 20-something sub-editor at a magazine in which he had a column, but were characteristic of the way he has been described as treating so many of the women who cross his path.
Given that my experience with the Masterchef presenter seems far from unique, it does raise the question of why it has taken so long for him to be exposed. His behaviour towards me was uncomfortable and inappropriate, but fell short of outright assault or harassment. Like so many experiences with men I encountered in my younger years, I laughed it off and have regularly deployed it as an anecdote since. I am not a victim. But added to the catalogue of other complaints, his declarations about my appearance and the things he’d like to do to me if it wasn’t for his wife now look to form part of a pattern of behaviour.
If Wallace was that disinhibited around Kirsty Wark and Aasmah Mir, imagine how he might act around a junior member of the crew or, indeed, a journalist at the start of her career
It’s clear, too, that BBC bosses were warned about Wallace at least five times over seven years but continued to employ him even after he quit a different show following complaints. So why has he only now been forced to step back from prime time? The presenter alighted on a partial explanation himself when he described his accusers as “middle class women of a certain age” (comments for which he has since apologised). Newsnight host Kirsty Wark,Times Radio’s Aasmah Mir and broadcaster Emma Kennedy are brave and principled for going public with their claims against Wallace. They also have platforms of their own that make them impossible to ignore.
Success shouldn’t be a shield against misconduct but it shouldn’t be a prerequisite for being taken seriously either. If Wallace was that disinhibited around Wark and Mir – women practised at holding the most senior people in the land to account – imagine how he might act around a junior member of the crew or, indeed, a journalist at the start of her career.
We should acknowledge that Gregg Wallace’s reported and alleged actions do not put him alongside the likes of Huw Edwards or high profile figures from the entertainment sector whose shocking abuses have to come to light, and of course he deserves due process and the presumption of innocence. He could also, conceivably, mount a defence that he is a species of dinosaur stranded in a world that has moved on and no longer appreciates his line in “banter”. But no one is entitled to fame, and the public may decide they no longer wish to tune into the antics of such a man night after night. Viewers may also question why the star continued to be indulged by the BBC when it has long been an open secret in the media that his off-camera persona is far from family friendly.
Anatomy of a scandal
There is, now, a familiar anatomy to scandals involving the BBC, where stars are protected until the tide of opinion turns against them, at which point they are censored at a speed that would make the Politburo proud. That’s not real justice – either for the accused or the subjects of their misconduct.
I have worked in the media and politics, industries that appear especially prone to this kind of scandal. One reason for this is that they attract people who are peculiarly interested in both power and attention. But it’s also worth noting that the high profiles of those involved and their greater accountability to voters and taxpayers make them more likely to get found out. Similar behaviour can be found in every industry, including the City, where there are imbalances of power. That won’t change until managers empower their junior employees as much as they cosset their star performers. Ultimately they will see the benefits in terms of staff retention and culture, not to mention through saving themselves a whole lot of reputational damage.
If this affair has confirmed anything, it’s that when women want to stop men behaving with impunity, we have to speak up – whatever our age or class
In writing this I have asked myself if a man should really lose his job and be publicly humiliated just for using sexual language. I worry, too, that such intense focus on a celebrity wrongdoer trivialises the experiences of women who suffer much more serious abuse in the shadows. But if this affair has confirmed anything, it’s that when women want to stop men behaving with impunity, we have to speak up – whatever our age or class.
Alys Denby is opinion and features editor of City PM