A British brand reputation expert who has spent decades working in crisis comms warns MasterChef it “must find a new presenter quickly to survive”.
And he believes “loose cannon” Gregg Wallace will find it difficult to repair his image.
Senior communications manager Andy Barr was “shocked” at how the allegations were first handled by the TV presenter.
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“Whatever comes next, the show needs to find a new presenter quickly, if it is to survive,” the 47-year-old, who works at Season One Communications, told Need To Know.
“Although the Christmas Special was cancelled, MasterChef is a global brand, it’s bigger than Gregg and this beloved programme is unlikely to leave the airwaves for good.
“But I’m not sure the same can be said for him.
“Gregg has taken the public for granted and believed his own hype.
“The court of public opinion has far wider career ramifications than any legal process.”
Allegations emerged of the 60-year-old TV presenter making inappropriate sexual comments on a variety of shows over 17 years.
Complaints were made to the BBC last week.
On 1 December, Wallace landed himself in hot water after commenting on the situation in a series of videos, saying that the complaints were from a “handful of middle-class women of a certain age.”
In a video, Andy Barr expands on the situation.
“What next for Gregg Wallace and what next for MasterChef?,” he says in the clip.
“Well, it seems like Gregg has finally got some professional comms advice because he’s gone quiet.
“That’s what any reputation person would have said to him.
“Take yourself out of the spotlight, wait for all the allegations to finish and decide if you can plot a comeback.
“Right now, that doesn’t look too positive.
“As for MasterChef, they’re a huge global brand – it’s quite straightforward for them.
“They just need to announce a new presenter, carry on filming, get the shows out there and continue to grow globally.
“As for Gregg though, we can expect him to do some sort of big ticket media interview, either on television, radio or even the internet.
“He’ll probably try and get his side of events over and then go from there.
“But it doesn’t look like many media companies want to work with him.
“He’s proven himself to be a loose cannon who just says what he wants and that’s not what media companies like.
“It’s all about the public perception though.
“Will the public welcome him back? I very much doubt it right now.”
