GREGG WALLACE OF Masterchef fame has apologised for a post on Instagram yesterday, in which he said that the allegations he was facing for “inappropriate” behaviour had come from “a handful of middle-class women of a certain age.”

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

In a post to Instagram this afternoon, Wallace said “I want to apologise for any offence that I caused with my post yesterday and any upset that 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.”

He said that he felt a lot of emotion and had felt “under siege” as he posted the comment yesterday. Wallace said that it was now obvious to him that he needed to take some time out while the investigation is ongoing. 

His apology comes as Downing Street criticised his comments as “inappropriate and misogynistic”. 

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Culture Secretary spoke with the BBC leadership at the end of last week on this matter and wider workplace culture issues to seek assurances that there are robust processes in place to deal with complaints.

“Clearly the comments we have seen from the individual over the weekend were completely inappropriate and misogynistic.”

Addressing the accusations in a post on Instagram yesterday, Wallace said: “I can see the complaints coming from a handful of middle-class women of a certain age, just from Celebrity MasterChef. This isn’t right.”

In another video, Wallace claimed “absolutely none” of the people he had worked with on his shows had made a complaint about him.

Wallace’s lawyers say “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.

Wallace’s statement sparked a backlash, with former Celebrity MasterChef contestants Ulrika Jonsson, Kirstie Allsopp and Emma Kennedy among those who criticised his response.