Gregg Wallace speaks out as he's lined up as patron of autism charity after MasterChef axe

Gregg Wallace is being lined up as a patron of an autism and workplace disability charity - one year after being dropped as ambassador by another one. The fired MasterChef presenter, 60, caught the attention of charity boss Annie Sands, after she read about the investigation into his inappropriate behaviour ordered by the BBC, in which 45 complaints against him were upheld.

Annie approached Wallace to see if Disability Advice and Welfare Network (DAWN) could help him to better understand the condition, after also seeing some of the abusive messages he’d received on social media.

She reasoned: “People were attacking him and saying he was using his autism as an excuse. I heard someone say ‘autistic people don’t make inappropriate remarks’. Well, that’s a ridiculous thing to say. Come and work with us for a week, you’ll hear a lot worse than that. Each autistic person presents differently.

“This is about what’s appropriate in the workplace. It comes down to education, and the ability to make reasonable adjustments."

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The charity is there to offer help to all those who need it. “I’ve seen Gregg’s autism report and it screams neurodiversity,” said Annie, 63, who was also diagnosed with the condition later in life. “We help all those who come to us, everybody deserves support. For me it’s about putting Gregg Wallace the celebrity to one side and working with Gregg Wallace the autistic person.

“As an organisation we are not afraid to stick our head above the parapet - he deserves our help just as much as the next person. We hate injustice, whoever comes to us, we will never turn them away. We have people who are in trouble with the police, or who are in massive debt. Where else are these people going to go? Where else is Gregg Wallace going to go?”

Gregg said Annie, who also advocates for those going through workplace disciplinary procedures, had been “a pillar of strength at a very dark time”.

Last night he told the Mirror: “I’ve learned so much about autism and my issues in the two weeks that I’ve been talking to Annie. So much of what she’s told me has helped me make sense of my condition - she’s made me understand that the persona I learned in Covent Garden fruit and veg market is the same one that I took into the television studios. Everybody loved that version of me. What I’ve learned is that I still have a lot to learn.”

The former TV star now intends to give support back to the charity. “I very much want to work with DAWN and hope that I can bring awareness of neurodiversity in the workplace, with all the positives it brings, as well as understanding the issues that may be problematic," he said. "I will do all I can for DAWN in the future to help Annie help others.” His options include becoming an associate for the organisation, which is behind the successful Autism Passport initiative.

Last year, the charity Ambitious About Autism dropped Wallace as an ambassador in the wake of the original claims made against him. And Dan Harris, who runs the different charity Neurodiversity in Business, and is himself autistic, said it was true that people like him "may miss social cues" at times. "But autism is not a free pass for bad behaviour," he added. "Comments like this stigmatise us and add an unfortunate negative focus on our community."

Following the investigation into Wallace’s behaviour on the cookery series, published earlier this month, BBC bosses said his position as presenter had become “untenable.” The upheld claims against him included one of unwelcome physical contact and three of being in a state of undress, with the majority for inappropriate language.

Annie said that the mistake made by show’s producers and the BBC was in not referring Gregg for an occupational health assessment as soon as the first complaints about his inappropriate behaviour were made. “This would have been picked up and then reasonable adjustments could have been put in place,” she explained.

"When I read the BBC report it said ‘he believes he’s always behaved in this way and it’s never been raised as an issue in the past’. And also ‘GW seems to lack self awareness in certain matters’. Every employer has a duty of care - somebody must have been aware that this isn’t normal behaviour.

“I think for Gregg he’s really tried to fit in but often felt left out. He wants to connect with others and feel accepted.”

Wallace said after the findings: ”I recognise that some of my humour and language, at times, was inappropriate. For that, I apologise without reservation.”

Oxford University research psychologist Dr Lucy Foulkes has argued that sexually inappropriate comments are not a symptom of autism. She explained: “Difficulties and differences in social interactions and communication are a key feature of autism.

“But it’s things like having difficulties with the typical ‘turn-taking’ of conversation, or not feeling comfortable making neurotypical amounts of eye contact, or having difficulties deciphering hidden and implied meaning from people’s explicit words. Nothing about autism or any neurodivergence explains why a man would make sexually inappropriate comments.”

But Annie feels she fully understands why the presenter has behaved in the ways that he has. “I’ve got myself into trouble lots of times for saying things I shouldn’t have said. It’s not about malice, it’s about social communication.”

Having read Wallace’s autism report, she described it as “gold standard” and says there is no way that the diagnosis is incorrect. “It’s probably one of the best I’ve ever read. He would have been born like this, every single person with autism will have some kind of social communication issue - and he’s going through all of this in the public eye. In comparison with some of the referrals we get, this is quite mild.

“Gregg’s been working without a formal diagnosis for a long time and probably playing the fool to cover his social anxiety.”

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