Gregg Wallace says shock diagnosis 'explains a lot' amid misconduct allegations The 60-year-old stepped away from hosting BBC cooking competition MasterChef after a host of historical complaints came to light Gregg Wallace (Image: BBC ) Gregg Wallace has spoken of a shock diagnosis he received amid the furore over misconduct allegations made against him. The 60-year-old stepped away from hosting BBC cooking competition MasterChef after a host of historical complaints came to light last year, which led to an external investigation by the show’s production company, Banijay UK. ‌ Last weekend, he posted on Instagram saying that it has been “hard” to speak out about his mental health struggles and his family, but it “felt right”. ‌ He also wrote: "Right now, I don’t want to add anything more. I’ve opened my heart, and that has to be enough. There will be a lot of noise, I get that; but I won’t be joining in. "I need space to heal and to be with the people who know who I really am. I just wanted to let you know that there are no further comments at this time.” It followed Wallace telling the Daily Mail that "nobody should be left on their own to face" a storm of complaints. He added: "It’s very difficult to explain the pressure unless you’ve been through it. Article continues below Wallace stepped away from hosting BBC cooking competition MasterChef (Image: BBC ) "I thought about suicide all the time – ‘is my insurance up to date? Will Anna (Wallace’s wife) get some money? She doesn’t deserve this, it would be better if I wasn’t here’." He also explained how he received an autism diagnosis at the height of the scandal last year, and said: "It does explain a hell of a lot to me," Bristol Live reports. ‌ Wallace said the diagnosis came about after he posted his infamous Instagram story response to the allegations where he blamed "middle-class women of a certain age." He also said the diagnosis was not much of a surprise to those around him. "John [Torode] and I had an argument over what was 'travelling' and what was 'going on holiday' because I couldn’t get a definitive answer. This has been going on for two years because so many of the contestants say they went travelling but, to me, it sounds like they’ve been on holiday. "The producers are like, 'Mate, will you stay on the food?' I’m saying, 'No. I need to know what constitutes travelling. How long were you away? How many hotels?’ John’s like, 'Will you just f***ing drop it?'" Article continues below The findings of the BBC's investigation into Wallace are expected to be released next month.