BBC Radio 1 star's savage move over Gregg Wallace's misconduct claims

Greg James has made his stance on MasterChef celebrity Gregg Wallace abundantly clear with a recent alteration to his BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show.

Wallace, 60, declared his departure from the beloved BBC programme last week following the announcement of an external investigation into allegations of misconduct. Newsnight presenter Kristy Wark is among the 13 individuals accusing the star of making inappropriate sexual remarks.

Banijay UK, the production company behind MasterChef, stated that the broadcaster is "committed to fully cooperating through the process."

Wallace continues to assert his innocence, informing fans in a social media video on Sunday that the accusations have originated from a "handful of middle-class women of certain age, just from Celebrity MasterChef. This isn't right."

Despite Wallace's insistence of his innocence, his industry colleagues, including former co-star John Torode, have subtly expressed their views. James, 38, is one of the latest to take a stand against Wallace by altering the introduction to his Breakfast Show, reports the Mirror.

Typically, the start of his radio slot features a soundbite of Wallace exclaiming: "Fire 'em up, let's go". However, it was revealed over the weekend that he had replaced this clip with something different.

Using a brief snippet from Daniel Craig's skit on Saturday Night Live, the show now commences with the James Bond actor declaring: "Ladies and gentlemen, the weekend."

James has remained tight-lipped about the scandal, only making a noticeable change to his soundbite. The spotlight intensified following statements from Ulrika Jonsson who admitted she is "seething" after an Instagram video from Wallace where he mentioned his accusers are "middle-class women of a certain age".

In the wake of Wallace's post, Jonsson, who had previously condemned Wallace for a distasteful rape joke aimed at a troubled MasterChef contestant, didn't hold back her outrage.

The television host criticized: "Somewhere in his misogynistic, thoughtless, ancient mind, he felt it appropriate to tell the world this. Oh, Gregg. Your ignorance and arrogance knows no bounds. Firstly, you have no clue what 'class' of women it is that have made complaints about you."

She further pointed out the irony of his reference to "women of a certain age", as Generation X have endured "sexist, misogynistic, crude and sleazy comments and physical contact" since early on and throughout their careers.

Following up, Wallace released another video on his social channels yesterday, retracting his earlier remarks about "middle-class women", apologising to his audience by saying: "I'm sorry for any offence that I caused with my post yesterday". He continued: "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."

He confessed the necessity of taking a break while the investigation is active, expressing hope for understanding and a wish for his apology to be accepted: "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."

Since the announcement of his departure from MasterChef last week, Wallace has been hit with numerous allegations. These include claims of using 'inappropriate sexual language' on set and alleged use of 'racist language.'

Wallace has refuted these allegations.