Gregg Wallace, who was sacked from Masterchef last year following an investigation into 83 historical allegations of workplace misconduct, has confirmed his “new chapter”
Gregg Wallace is pictured during an episode of Masterchef in 2023(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Former Masterchef host Gregg Wallace is leaving the UK for Italy after being forced to sell his “enormous” £1million home.
The TV chef, 61, was axed from the popular BBC programme last year after he was accused of “inappropriate behaviour”, including allegations of touching an assistant’s bum on the show. An investigation into 83 historical allegations of workplace misconduct, with 45 accusations against him subsequently upheld.
Reports emerged in October Gregg was claiming up to £10,000 in damages from the BBC and one of its subsidiaries following his axe from MasterChef. The TV presenter claimed they allegedly caused him “distress and harassment” by failing to disclose to him his personal data.
But now the presenter has confirmed his “new chapter”, telling his Instagram following he will leave the UK for Italy by the end of the month. Gregg added he will homeschool his autistic son there.
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Gregg’s wife, Anne-Marie Sterpini, whom he met on Twitter, is Italian. They tied the knot in 2016, four years after Gregg’s divorce to his third wife Heidi Brown.
Speaking in his social media video, Gregg said: “I’ve always loved Italy and we plan to move around and rent in different places which is quite an adventure and with the help of my autism specialist mates, I am going to homeschool Sid as well. It is a new chapter for us. It is a life that should be full of travel and adventure and I’m very very much looking forward too it.”
But the entrepreneur, who also hosted Saturday Kitchen, is also planning to buy a “much more modest”house in Yorkshire — close to where his daughter lives. He will then divide his time between Italy and Yorkshire, it is thought.
It comes after Gregg revealed earlier this month that he is selling his £1million Kent home after being left “unable to live the life he used to have”. The chef has not had a TV job since the BBC sacked him from Masterchef, a role he had held for nearly two decades.
The ex BBC star plans to sell the “enormous” home which sits on five acres of land along with its stables and pond. Gregg, who bought the home back in 2017, said he was making the move not only for a slower pace of life but also to ensure financial security for Anne-Marie, 38, and son Sid, six.
He said: “I can’t have the life I used to have but whether you chose to believe it or not, I really wanted to come out of that anyway, but obviously not in the dramatic way that I did.
“I want to ease off a little bit, I want to relax a little bit. but that also comes with wanting financial security for me and my family because I’ve got a wife that is much younger than me and a special needs little boy, Sid.”