"working-class girls who were, and are, fierce as f***."
Anita Rani appeared to hit out at Gregg Wallace after he blamed “middle-class women of a certain age” for complaints about him.
It was announced that Gregg has stepped away from his presenting role on BBC MasterChef whilst production company Banijay UK review alleged historical misconduct complaints.
Thirteen people have claimed he made inappropriate sexual comments across a range of shows over a 17-year period.
His lawyers have denied the allegations and in a video message, Gregg said:
“Now in the newspaper, I can see the complaints coming from a handful of middle-class women of a certain age just from Celebrity MasterChef. This isn’t right.”
The video was met with backlash, including from some celebrities.
Countryfile host Anita Rani appeared to aim a jibe at Gregg as she defended “middle-class women of a certain age”.
In an Instagram Story, she shared a quote that read:
“It’s important to remember that middle-class women of a certain age grew up as working-class girls who were, and are, fierce as f***.
“With long memories.”
Anita attributed the quote to writer Stella Duffy.
Gregg later apologised for his video message, saying:
“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 headspace 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, now, while this investigation is underway I hope you understand and I do hope you will accept this apology.”
In a statement, Banijay UK said: “This week the BBC received complaints from individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with presenter Gregg Wallace on one of our shows.
“Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate.
“While this review is underway, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process.
“Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set.”
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