Who is Gregg Wallace? MasterChef: The Professionals host, Eat Well For Less? host and ex Strictly star

The pudding king also hosts Inside The Factory and Eat Well For Less? on the BBC, and even gave Strictly Come Dancing a go. Here's everything we know about him…

Who is Gregg Wallace, how old is he and what's his background?

Gregg Wallace is a 54-year-old former costermonger, baker and TV personality, born in Elephant and Castle, London.

He currently lives in Whitstable, Kent, with his two children and fourth wife, Anne-Marie.

He's best-known as one-half of MasterChef's judging team, alongside Aussie chef John Torode.

Gregg has been doing the MasterChef gig since 2005, and he's also on the panel of MasterChef: The Professionals and Celebrity MasterChef.

Gregg is so popular with viewers that a YouTube joker created an incredible dance remix of his comments titled Buttery Biscuit Base.

Aside from his TV projects, Gregg is also a writer and a farmer, and he used to own two restaurants in Bermondsey and Putney – until they folded in 2014, owing suppliers £150,000.

Despite his celebrity, Gregg has kept his feet on the ground, and he jokingly refers to himself as "just the fat, bald bloke on MasterChef who likes pudding".

What experience does Gregg Wallace have in the food industry?

While everyone knows that John Torode has professional cooking experience, some viewers don’t know why Gregg has been picked to be a MasterChef judge.

The host hasn’t just been chosen for his likeable personality, he’s also got decades of experience in the food industry.

After running a successful vegetable stand at Covent Garden, Gregg founded George Allan’s Greengrocers in 1989.

Staggeringly, his company built up an eventual turnover of £7.5 million.

However, in 2013 Gregg's company West Veg Limited folded, and was revealed to be £500,000 in debt – just a year before his restaurants folded.

What other TV shows has Gregg Wallace been on?

Popular telly personality Gregg was the presenter of Saturday Kitchen until he was replaced by Antony Worrall Thompson in 2003.

He has also presented BBC shows including Supermarket Secrets and Eat Well for Less?, as well as going behind the scenes of food production on Inside The Factory.

One of Gregg’s most famous TV appearances was on Strictly Come Dancing in 2014, when the left-footed food lover was eliminated first.

He has also landed himself guest spots on Room 101, Who Do You Think You Are? and An Extra Slice.

Is Gregg married?

In 2016, Gregg married Anne-Marie Sterpini, 21 years his junior, in an intimate ceremony at Hever Castle in Kent.

Anne-Marie is Gregg's fourth wife, and he has two teenage children from his second marriage to Denise, a former pastry chef.

Gregg and Anne-Marie had met on Twitter in 2013.

Similarly, he had also met his third wife Heidi, 17 years his junior, online.

John Torode served as best man at Gregg's wedding to fellow "foodie" Anne-Marie.

Do Gregg Wallace and John Torode get on?

Gregg's MasterChef partner-in-crime John Torode shocked fans of the show by suggesting that they don't actually get on off-screen.

He said that his partnership with Gregg Wallace "doesn't extend to an off-screen friendship", and that an explosive drunken spat once saw filming suspended.

However, he later backtracked and insisted on Good Morning Britain that the pair are "always friends", putting a stop to rumours that the duo feud off-screen.

What else has Gregg Wallace been up to?

When he’s not been filming for the BBC cooking competition, Gregg has been using his voice to speak out about some important issues.

He joined the Loose Women panel to plead with fellow abuse victims to speak out after discussing his tragic experiences as a child.

Wallace also urged the Government to bring back home economics lessons – which he believes are as important as English and Maths.

While many have backed Gregg’s recent campaigns, not everyone was happy when he backed Paul Hollywood’s move to Channel 4.

And his heated response to Mary Berry’s ban on deep fat fryers also sparked debate.

When is MasterChef: The Professionals on TV?

MasterChef: The Professionals begins on November 6 at 8pm on BBC Two.

As the show's name suggests, the contestants cook for a living, and over the course of the show, the group of hopefuls gets whittled down through various gruelling stages until one talented foodie rules them all.

It will air on Tuesday nights for seven weeks and is likely to run until Christmas.

Gregg Wallace, Monica Galetti and Marcus Wareing will be doing the judging.

If you miss an episode you can catch up on the BBC iPlayer.

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