Gregg Wallace's friends blame 'inappropriate behaviour' on autism

Gregg Wallace's alleged inappropriate behaviour which sparked his MasterChef exit has been blamed on his secret autism condition by friends of the scandal-hit BBC1 star. 

MailOnline can reveal Wallace, 60, has never been 'formally diagnosed', but his close pals believe he displays 'all classic symptoms' including an inability to judge social situations and having a 'lighter filter on the subject of sex'.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, a close therapist friend of Wallace, who did not want to be named, claims the MasterChef judge has never been tested for autism due a feeling of responsibility he may have passed down the neurological and developmental disorder to his four-year son Sid, who is severely autistic and non-verbal.

And they believe the condition may have contributed to his alleged inappropriateness on set, which has seen him step down from his role on the BBC1 series after 17 years, following an external investigation.

The friend said: 'Gregg carries many of the autistic symptoms, the people who know him best have been saying it for years.

'He's never formally been tested, due a feeling of responsibility over Sid's diagnosis, but he really should be as it may explain a lot about his actions.

'Gregg has form for his inability to read the room, saying things that don't really belong in the moment. He has no filter and in social situations that can become dangerous, especially when it comes to jokes about sex.

'He has a light filter when it comes to sex which is common in people on the spectrum. In the modern world of TV where you can't just dismiss some of his actions as banter. 

They added: 'Sometimes he doesn't interpret facial expressions and tones of voice clearly, therefore can't decipher how a person is reacting to what he's saying.

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Dr Punit Shah, Associate Professor of Psychology based at the University of Bath, who has written extensively about autism said: 'Autistic behaviour can often be misinterpreted because autistic people classically have a different understanding of faux pas and of what might be considered an appropriate or inappropriate joke. 

'That's because of the social communication difficulties that are a core part of autism.'

Last year, Wallace was named as an ambassador for charity Ambitious About Autism and has also been praised for raising awareness about the condition by documenting Sid's journey to his social media followers.

However, in February this year, he received a backlash after an interview with the Daily Telegraph went viral after Wallace claimed he spent more time playing computer games than interacting with Sid during an article described as his typical Saturday at home.

Wallace, who also has two grown up children from a previous marriage, hit back and said he was 'deeply saddened' by the 'cruel' reaction.

He told his social media followers: 'There are two things I want to address here with Sid. People said, 'So you spend an hour and a half with your son, but then spend two hours on your computer.'

'No. I'm with my son in the house all the time.

'I just didn't write down, 'Had a tickle with Sid, playing around the living room.' You're not logging every minute of the day. I just logged the blocks.'

Wallace added: 'So it didn't mean that's all I saw [of ] him that day.

'If you're living in a house with someone, you're interacting with them all the time. Not only that - that is a snapshot of one Saturday. And the other thing as well - and I'm almost going to cry over this - people saying that Sid was unwanted.

'It took us two years to conceive with Sid. Two years.'

Wallace's wife, Anne-Marie 'Anna' Sterpini, is 21 years his junior. They met on X, formerly Twitter, when she asked him a question about rhubarb.

Wallace broke his silence on Thursday after officially stepping down from his position, thanking his fans for their support.

Today, even Number 10 was being quizzed on the subject of Wallace's alleged behaviour, with a spokesman saying: 'Obviously the allegations made are deeply concerning regarding today's reporting.

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'It's right that a thorough investigation is conducted. But this is one for the BBC.'

He added: 'While that process is underway it wouldn't be right for me to comment.'

Wallace faces accusations he told a junior female colleague he wasn't wearing any boxer shorts under his jeans, wandered into the studio naked apart from a sock on his penis and mimicked a sex act on a producer when she knelt down to clean his trousers.

The BBC has since revealed that 13 people, including Newsnight's Kirsty Wark, have complained about his conduct while working with him over a 17-year period across five shows, from 2005 to 2022.

Ms Wark alleges that Wallace told stories and jokes of a 'sexualised nature' in front of contestants and crew while filming Celebrity MasterChef in 2011 on two occasions, adding that his gags and comments were 'really, really in the wrong place'.

The BBC claims that Gregg walked away from MasterChef after BBC News sent a letter to his agent on Tuesday, setting out the allegations and giving him a right of reply.

They say he was warned after a complaint was raised in 2018, but new historical claims emerged over the summer of 2024.

Gregg is 'committed to fully cooperating throughout the process', the show's production company Banijay UK said.

Restaurant critic William Sitwell defended Wallace on Friday, revealing in the Daily Telegraph his friend is

he's always genuinely interested in the wellbeing of people around him. The health, the wealth, or otherwise, of those he works with, of his friends and very large circle of acquaintances. And he's equally open about his own life, sometimes quite extraordinarily so.'

Plus, he also said he tells jokes 'like he's running a Bernard Manning comedy.'