IF you’re caught with your trousers down, just like Gregg Wallace has been, you need to come up with an excuse to get out of trouble fast, don’t you?
The troubled MasterChef presenter has done just that by revealing he’s been diagnosed with autism and this “neurodiversity” was even “suspected and discussed across countless seasons of MasterChef”.
Olivia WestDisgraced Gregg Wallace claims he’s been diagnosed with autism[/caption]
BBCHe says this ‘neurodiversity’ was even ‘suspected and discussed across countless seasons of MasterChef’[/caption]
I don’t doubt his formal diagnosis.
But I’d be surprised if he openly discussed how it may be affecting his behaviour because I chatted, at length, with Gregg about autism before this scandal ever broke and he never, ever, mentioned it.
I visited his home in 2021 to talk about his wellness brand.
We got on well, he was welcoming and there was plenty of banter.
Yes, he was overly chatty with some bizarre jokes which made it difficult to get a word in edgeways at times, but I liked him.
He was the cheeky chappy we’ve all seen on screen for years.
I met his family, including his delightful little boy Sid.
And after the interview ended Gregg and I wandered around his glorious garden chatting while I had another coffee.
Sid and my son are the same age. Gregg and I shared our fears as parents, the difficulties of managing a work-life balance and how, having both had kids a little later, neither of us were the youngest parents at the school gates.
Gregg was trying to get a formal diagnosis of autism for non-verbal Sid at the time and went into the struggles that he had been through and his fears for the boy’s future.
We discussed how autism appeared to be on the increase now and how there hadn’t been nearly as many diagnoses when we were growing up.
But — although it is often genetic — Gregg never once shared the fact he believed he had the condition too, or that his neurodiversity was such a major issue for him that it had affected his work or been discussed with TV producers during those countless seasons of MasterChef.
You could argue that why on Earth should he share any of that? It is a private matter, especially to a journalist.
Looking back, though, given the depth of our chat, it does leave me questioning whether autism was having the significant impact on his work life he now claims.
He never mentioned it in his autobiography either or when he and his wife bravely and openly discussed little Sid’s diagnosis.
So I find it odd that he has wheeled his diagnosis out now — just as his career hits the skids — as though it is some kind of loophole.
I fear that as well as autism he is suffering from a bad case of old- fashioned sexism and a dreadful dose of “it-wasn’t-me” blame-shifting.
T-shirt pulled so tight
The allegations against him include inappropriate sexual comments, touching and groping, all of which he denies.
He allegedly dropped his trousers in front of a junior worker to reveal he wasn’t wearing underwear.
According to one of his mates, the lack of Calvin Kleins is because he has autistic “hypersensitivity to labels and tight clothing”.
Autism is a common condition now. More than one in 100 people have it but don’t feel the need to expose themselves to young work colleagues.
And that hypersensitivity didn’t seem to have kicked in when he was promoting his wellness brand because he wore a T-shirt pulled so tight across his chest and arms that you could, if you’d looked for it, seen the offending inside labels bulging from the outside too.
Gregg even wants to blame bosses for failing to “investigate my disability”.
It seems ridiculous that Gregg — who must be a smart man to make it to the top as a prime-time TV presenter — expects to pass the responsibility for HIS health on to his bosses.
And now, because the BBC has ditched him (saying they doubt he could change his questionable behaviour), those close to Gregg say the Beeb are using his autism against him.
But the only one using autism for anything, Gregg, is you.
And wheeling it out as an excuse and so publicly shouting about it now, at a time when you should be taking responsibility for your actions and apologising to those you’ve hurt, really is disgraceful.
A disability can never be used as an excuse for behaviour like this — it is doing a disservice to every other person with autism by claiming it can.
BE MORE LIKE JEN? IT’S A BIT OF A STRETCH
SEEING Jennifer Aniston posing in a swimsuit for her fitness brand Pvolve is a thing of wonder. I am utterly jealous.
The Mega AgencyJennifer Aniston posing in a swimsuit for her fitness brand Pvolve[/caption]
Flat stomach, toned arms with zero bingo wings and a good, solid decent thigh gap. There is not a wrinkle or a sag in sight.
No grey hairs, no eye bags. Utter perfection. And she is an age-defying 56.
Yay, great and all that, let’s all rejoice about 50 being the new 30.
But back in reality . . . let’s remember if we spent all day in the gym, could afford endless tweakments, had a stylist and an airbrushing expert at our disposal we too could look (a bit) like that.
And if all else fails, try this mantra ladies . . . it’s what’s on the inside that counts.
BAG SO PLAIN, JANE
WE all know that the original Birkin bag, sold for £7.4million this week, is the ultimate It bag.
Jane Birkin’s original bag is winging its way to Japan after being bought by a private collectorAFP
Replicas have become the ultimate arm candy.
The original has spawned thousands and thousands of dupes.
Now actress and style icon Jane Birkin’s original bag is winging its way to Japan after being bought by a private collector.
But I actually wouldn’t want it.
The leather is faded and scuffed, with residue from stickers on it, and there is even a pair of nail clippers inside because Jane liked to clip her nails. Yuk.
Without the famous name attached, you’d struggle to even sell a bag like that on Vinted.
I’ll stick to my “replica”.
WE’VE had hot girl summer and brat summer, now it’s the boys’ turn.
According to M&S we are in the middle of “thigh guy summer”, with fellas proudly donning micro shorts as Britain swelters.
The fashion fad is being led by Normal People star Paul Mescal, who insists: “I’m a big advocate for men wearing shorter shorts.”
While I’d have a fit if the (middle-aged!) Geordie started wearing a pair of thigh grazers to do the weekly shop in Tesco, I can’t see any harm in the trend.
Bring it on. If the blokes doing it are young and fit enough to pull it off then I say go for it.
The thigh’s the limit.
IT CAN’T WEIGHT
I GET the sentiments of WeightWatchers, which has emerged from bankruptcy and has blasted quick-fix fat jabs, saying it is “the most trusted, science-backed platform, proven to drive better results and lasting impact”.
But the problem is when you’ve got that holiday coming up and have a 14-day battle to squeeze into last year’s holiday gear the last thing on your mind is a lasting impact . . . it’s a quick impact.
DO LEAF IT OUT, PLEASE
PRET A Manger has released a brand new salad range with some costing £12.95. Yes, £12.95.
suppliedPret A Manger has released a brand new salad range with some costing £12.95[/caption]
Sales of Pret salads have grown at three times the rate of their sarnies, and these credit card-abusing versions include black bean mole, quinoa and pomegranate seeds, Japanese style togarashi spiced seeds and “hand-massaged” kale.
I have no idea what half of that lot truly is but it sounds v. v. posh.
Customers are kicking off about the price. I don’t blame them. You wouldn’t find me paying for that – or many other northern- ers too, it would seem.
When I enquired about these new salads in the Newcastle Pret, I was told they didn’t have them, probably wouldn’t ever get them and were already struggling to flog the fancy £6 sarnies they had on display.
Not because us northerners are tight – we just have common sense and know when we are being had.
BIT TOO SALTY
AMID all The Salt Path scandal I do feel sorry for poor Gillian Anderson.
PAGillian Anderson as Raynor Winn and Jason Isaacs as Moth Winn in The Salt Path[/caption]
GettyThe real life Raynor and Moth Winn[/caption]
Before I found out the original book – about the trek around the South West coast by Raynor and Moth Winn – was all a bit of a con story I had zero interest in watching the film.
I thought it sounded quite dull, even with Gillian and Jason Isaccs in the starring roles.
Now I want to see what the web of lies truly entails. And I won’t be the only one.
It may become one of Gillian’s best-known films . . . for all the wrong reasons.
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