BBC's Richard Osman issues four-word apology after defending Gregg Wallace

Jon and Sally grill Jess Phillips over Gregg Wallace situation

Richard Osman apologised for previously defending Gregg Wallace after he previously spoke to colleagues about the Masterchef star and they had nothing to say about him.

The Pointless star admitted he felt sorry for defending Gregg and also added that he thinks there is "no way" the former greengrocer can "come back from this".

Richard was speaking on the The Rest Is Entertainment podcast he hosts with Marina Hyde as he shared: "If I can start with a Mea culpa, because a while ago we talked about him, because he had that boring day in the life, and I stuck up for him because I think being boring is fine.

"Also, I did ask around, and any show he's ever been on that I've been involved with, everyone had nice things to say about him.

'So I was like, 'Oh no, absolutely, it's fine'. Then you think, God, you must always be so careful. I did think, 'Oh, he's just a big personality', and I hadn't heard stuff. But now, listen, I definitively understand, I have heard stuff. I apologise for that.”

Gregg Wallace has come under fire in recent days for (Image: Getty)

Gregg faces various allegations including making “inappropriate sexual jokes” and posted a video on his Instagram stories on Monday to issue an apology after initially saying complaints about his behaviour came from “a handful of middle-class women of a certain age”

He said: “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 under way. I hope you understand and I do hope you will accept this apology.”

Richard Osman previously defended Greg Wallace. (Image: Getty)

The 60-year-old faces allegations from 13 people across a range of shows over 17 years, as reported by BBC News on Thursday, with many others sharing their experiences in recent days.

The new accusations follow Thursday's announcement that Gregg will step away from hosting hit BBC cooking show MasterChef. At the same time, historical misconduct complaints are externally reviewed by the show's production company, Banijay UK.

A woman who worked on Gregg Wallace's Big Weekends in 2019, which aired on Channel 5, has told BBC News he was "fascinated" that she dated women and asked her the "logistics" of how it worked.

The woman, who BBC News has called Anna, also said he reportedly talked about sex, domination and spanking, which she said was "highly inappropriate".

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Her colleague then left the room, and she told BBC News: "It's weird to be alone in a room with a topless stranger."

Another woman, Georgina, who BBC News named, reportedly worked with the TV presenter on BBC's Eat Well For Less TV show in 2019 and recalled him commenting that his wife was only two years older than her.

She also told the outlet that after she went to his car to pay his parking ticket, he allegedly replied, "You can come to my car, but can you handle the fact that everyone will think you just got off with a celebrity?"

Her colleague, named Lisa by BBC News, also recalled Gregg allegedly leaving a bathroom topless in front of them during a shoot and asking them to take his coffee order.