Celebrity MasterChef is back again tonight (August 30) – but away from the box you can take a look inside the life of presenter Gregg Wallace and his biggest controversies, including his age gap with fourth wife and backlash over ‘not seeing’ his son…
Gregg Wallace has a 22-year age gap with his fourth wife
Married three times previously, there is 22 years between Gregg and fourth wife Anne-Marie Sterpini.
They first encountered one another on social media when she tweeted him a question about rhubarb and duck.
Gregg has previously explained: “I just looked at Anna’s photo and thought, wow, she’s pretty. I sent her a message and we started sending messages. Then I sent her my phone number.”
But while Anne-Marie was apparently unconcerned by the difference in their ages, Gregg is said to have felt “really conscious” when people saw them holding hands in public.
However, in a memorable piece for The Telegraph back in February of this year detailing his weekend schedule, Gregg was criticised for noting he likes Anne-Marie to have his lunch “ready on the table” at midday.
Backlash over not seeing autistic son
The same newspaper article also generated controversy for Gregg’s approach with his youngest child.
Gregg has two children, a son and daughter, from his second marriage. But in 2019, he and Anne-Marie welcomed Sid into the world.
Speaking to MailOnline in 2023, Gregg shared how Sid is autistic.
“Sid is non-verbal. He’s still in nappies. He doesn’t use cutlery. His choice of foods is very limited, but he’s a beautiful boy,” Gregg explained.
He went on: “We don’t know at the moment what Sid’s feeling, because he’s unable to tell us, but for the time being all our dreams of how we wanted to interact with that child are gone.”
Gregg reflected: “Luckily we don’t have many sensory issues. He enjoys play, he enjoys cuddles. And we’re seeing more and more interaction, which is giving us hope. And that’s all we need.”
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However, the Telegraph piece from earlier in 2024 went viral as some readers suggested Gregg Wallace should spend more time with Sid, who he shares with his fourth wife.
The article indicated Gregg had a 90-minute slot in his Saturday schedule before playing video games. He also caused a reaction by saying: “I’m a much better father now I’m older, although another child isn’t something that I would have chosen at my age.
“I was always very honest with Anna, but it’s what she wanted and I love her. I just requested two things – that we had help in the house (so her mum moved in), and secondly that we had at least one week a year when we holidayed just the two of us.”
Hitting back at the “cruel, nasty and unfair” reaction he’d received, Gregg said: “You’re not logging every minute of the day. I just logged the blocks. So it didn’t mean that’s all I saw 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.”
Secret booze battle
In 2020, Gregg Wallace opened up about struggling with alcohol from his divorce from second wife Denise.
He told MailOnline about how he turned to booze, often starting drinking at 10am: “I just wanted to be out and I just wanted to drink. It was seven days a week.
I just wanted to be out and I just wanted to drink. It was seven days a week.
“It got so bad at one point the owner of The White Bear in Clerkenwell used to let me in when he was still in his dressing gown.”
Gregg added: “It was drink dependency, I just didn’t realise. It all seemed like fun. It might have also been loneliness and a desire to just party and go out all the time. The idea of being at home wasn’t great.”
‘BBC axe over inappropriate comments’
Gregg hosted eight series of Inside the Factory from 2015, with the most recent new episodes airing earlier this year.
However, in March 2023, Gregg announced he had quit the series in order to care for Sid.
He said during a radio appearance: “So I’ve made a decision that I’m actually not going to do Inside The Factory any more.
“It’s a good time to stop doing it because there’s actually 12 episodes in the can… So I wouldn’t have been filming for a while anyway. So it just seemed like a good idea to stop it.”
However, a few months later, it was alleged Gregg’s departure may have been linked to him being “rude” towards female staff.
Gregg hit back at the accusations in June 2023: “I’ve enjoyed doing Inside the Factory for a number of years and I’ve done hundreds of factories. I use humour to relax people. It’s a tool I’ve used for lots of years.
“I never, ever set out to upset or offend anybody and I never would. It makes me upset that I might have upset people.”
Celebrity MasterChef airs on BBC One London at 9:00 PM, Friday 30 August
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Celebrity MasterChef is on BBC One tonight (August 20) at 8pm.
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