Middle Class Men of A Certain Age
What is right and what is accepted are two different things
Now the BBC has a history of sweeping things under the rug so we won't get into that
Greg Wallace, a 60-year-old TV personality, has been accused of making inappropriate comments over 17 years across various programmes.
While some might dismiss these as harmless or humorous, the growing backlash shows a shift in societal tolerance for such behaviour—and rightly so.
Let’s be honest: Greg likely doesn’t have malicious intent.
His comments probably came from a misguided belief that he’s just being “fun.”
And this belief, I’d argue, hasn’t developed in isolation.
As the host of his shows, Greg likely received years of unspoken encouragement—polite laughter, awkward smiles, and silence—all of which signal, “This is fine.”
We’ve all laughed at a boss’s bad joke at some point.
When no one calls it out, the joke-teller continues.
Over time, what might have once seemed harmless builds into a pattern that crosses lines.
And for me that’s exactly what seems to have happened here.
I've seen things saying but it is okay for Nigella Lawson innuendos
But here’s the critical distinction: Greg’s comments were aimed at people.
Nigella Lawson’s much-discussed innuendos, on the other hand, are directed at a camera lens.
Nigella flirts with the audience as a collective, not a colleague.
And if viewers are uncomfortable with that? Guess what? Ofcom is just a complaint away.
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The line is clear—banter or innuendo becomes a problem when it’s personal, persistent, and creates discomfort for the person on the receiving end.
The Bigger Picture
Greg is not alone in this.
Many middle-class men of a certain age have operated in spaces where boundaries were looser, and humour at someone’s expense was normalised.
But society evolves.
What used to be brushed off is now being rightly questioned.
It’s not about silencing “lad banter” altogether.
It’s about self-awareness—knowing your audience, understanding context,
Banter is fine until it stops being fun for everyone involved.
Read the room Greg
Greg Wallace has landed in hot water because people are finally standing up and saying,
“This isn’t okay.”
It’s not a witch hunt—it’s accountability.
The Lesson for Greg and Others
This moment is a reminder for middle-class men of a certain age (and anyone, really): times have changed.
Behaviour once excused as harmless or funny may no longer be accepted, and that’s a good thing.
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2 个月I think the issue is also about ego's and the BBC's unwillingness to deal with the over inflated egos of their highly paid presenters. The BBC are quite happy to ride on the wave of viewing figures that highly paid "characters" bring and seem to be happy to turn a blind eye to bad behaviour whilst they do so. They did it with Clarkson and Russel Brand. Problem is such characters become emboldened, arrogant and cocky because some exec hasn't pulled them up on it and so the behaviour escalates.
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2 个月Great piece Lewis but I would question whether the backlash is entirely caused by a shift in societal norms. I think alot of it is caused by fear. 'I'd better condemn this or it'll look like I'm OK with it' This becomes a bandwagon on which people feel they have to jump with more and more of them clamouring to be righteously shocked on their social media platforms. Time was, you only got your opinion on this published if a newspaper or news channel interviewed you. Also,take a look at the comments from his Co host today; a masterclass in non committal dodgery. They are longstanding friends but he has not stood up for him
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2 个月An excellently insightful article on the current cultural problems. We have to remember here that Wallace isa a human with feelings and emotions and as you say hasn't operated in a vacuum. Someone at some point should have told him what he was doing was upsetting and inappropriate. The trouble with "talent" is they are coddled and protected. We are all responsible for creating the conditions under which this happens. And we are all responsible for changing them. Whataboutery and pointing fingers will get us nowhere. Well done Lewis Hackney
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2 个月Some excellent points here. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that Wallace was previously spoken to by his production company (it's not a BBC production). People complained before and his cards were marked. If he failed to heed the warnings then he shouldn't really complain when the noise gets louder. The comments by his biographer on Newsnight yesterday were extraordinary.
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2 个月Looking forward to having a read of this when I get back home.