Greg Wallace's autism excuse for sexually inappropriate behaviour

Here are some extracts from the findings of the Lewis Silkin report, as reported by various news outlets yesterday. I've organised them under some headings of my own, for context / structure:

How relevant has his autism been found to be?

Karen Baxter, a partner and head of investigations at Lewis Silkin, said that his autism diagnosis was “highly relevant in the context of the findings made, particularly regarding his use of humour as a ‘masking’ technique and his difficulty in reading social cues”.

Is he seeking to use his autism as an excuse?

Baxter added: “Mr Wallace accepts that his diagnosis may help to explain some of his actions, but he does not wish to hide behind it.”

How was his behaviour described?

The report found that Wallace “was consistently described as energetic, humorous, and generally able to put contestants at ease” – but that some of these interactions and comments “made within earshot of contestants or colleagues sometimes resulted in offence and/or left people feeling uncomfortable”.

Did he change his behaviour once he was advised that there was an issue? (Yes, he did).

“Following a 2017 complaint, the BBC formally warned Wallace that his behaviour had to change. He responded by removing himself from social settings and seeking advice from colleagues to avoid further problems.”

“the BBC intervened in response to a complaint in 2017, following which Mr Wallace was warned of the need to change his behaviour.” The report said that “Mr Wallace took steps to heed that warning”.”

What happened after that?

The “vast majority (94 per cent)” of the 83 allegations were linked to behaviour that allegedly happened between 2005 and 2018. Only one was substantiated after that time period.

How many complaints were actually made when the issues occurred?

"the investigation heard 83 allegations against Gregg Wallace from 41 complainants" and "45 of the 83 allegations against Mr Wallace were substantiated".

“While 19 people said they raised concerns about Wallace, the investigation found evidence of 11 formal or informal complaints about his behaviour on MasterChef between 2005 and 2024.

Of the 11 identified complaints, eight were recognised as such at the time. The other three were treated as comments, so no action was taken.”

"In earlier years, specifically prior to 2016 where the vast majority of these issues arose, it is clear that escalation procedures were not as robust as they should have been, and awareness of policies and procedures were lacking particularly amongst freelance staff."

What has the NAS said about the situation?

A National Autistic Society spokesperson said: “Every autistic person is different, just like every non-autistic person is different, so it is important not to generalise or make judgements based on the actions, words or behaviour of any one individual.”

Here are some extracts from the findings of the Lewis Silkin report, as reported by various news outlets yesterday. I've organised them under some headings of my own, for context / structure:

How relevant has his autism been found to be?

Karen Baxter, a partner and head of investigations at Lewis Silkin, said that his autism diagnosis was “highly relevant in the context of the findings made, particularly regarding his use of humour as a ‘masking’ technique and his difficulty in reading social cues”.

Is he seeking to use his autism as an excuse?

Baxter added: “Mr Wallace accepts that his diagnosis may help to explain some of his actions, but he does not wish to hide behind it.”

How was his behaviour described?

The report found that Wallace “was consistently described as energetic, humorous, and generally able to put contestants at ease” – but that some of these interactions and comments “made within earshot of contestants or colleagues sometimes resulted in offence and/or left people feeling uncomfortable”.

Did he change his behaviour once he was advised that there was an issue? (Yes, he did).

“Following a 2017 complaint, the BBC formally warned Wallace that his behaviour had to change. He responded by removing himself from social settings and seeking advice from colleagues to avoid further problems.”

“the BBC intervened in response to a complaint in 2017, following which Mr Wallace was warned of the need to change his behaviour.” The report said that “Mr Wallace took steps to heed that warning”.”

What happened after that?

The “vast majority (94 per cent)” of the 83 allegations were linked to behaviour that allegedly happened between 2005 and 2018. Only one was substantiated after that time period.

How many complaints were actually made when the issues occurred?

"the investigation heard 83 allegations against Gregg Wallace from 41 complainants" and "45 of the 83 allegations against Mr Wallace were substantiated".

“While 19 people said they raised concerns about Wallace, the investigation found evidence of 11 formal or informal complaints about his behaviour on MasterChef between 2005 and 2024.

Of the 11 identified complaints, eight were recognised as such at the time. The other three were treated as comments, so no action was taken.”

"In earlier years, specifically prior to 2016 where the vast majority of these issues arose, it is clear that escalation procedures were not as robust as they should have been, and awareness of policies and procedures were lacking particularly amongst freelance staff."

What has the NAS said about the situation?

A National Autistic Society spokesperson said: “Every autistic person is different, just like every non-autistic person is different, so it is important not to generalise or make judgements based on the actions, words or behaviour of any one individual.”

A very interesting and balanced post, thank you bunny