Wallace ‘saddened’ by backlash to comments about his autistic son

‘I’m with my son in the house all the time. I just didn’t write down, “Had a tickle with Sid”’ ‘I’m almost going to cry over this – people saying that Sid was unwanted. It took us two years to conceive’

GREGG WALLACE has said he is “deeply saddened” by the “cruel”, “nasty” and “unfair” reaction to his comments about his four-year-old son.

It comes after The Telegraph’s interview with the Masterchef presenter last weekend went viral online, with some people criticising his remarks.

In the article, Wallace described his typical Saturday at home, including playing with his son, Sid, who is autistic and non-verbal, before spending two hours by himself playing a computer strategy game. Talking about late fatherhood, the 59-year-old said: “I’m a much better father now I’m older, although another child isn’t something that I would have chosen at my age.

“I was always very honest with Anna [his wife], but it’s what she wanted and I love her.

“I just requested two things – that we had help in the house (so her mum moved in), and secondly that we had at least one week a year when we holidayed just the two of us.”

However, after the wave of online criticism, the presenter responded in an emotional Instagram video, in which he described the interview as “innocent”.

Wallace said that he was “deeply saddened” by the “cruel” reaction. He told his online followers: “There are two things I want to address here with Sid. People said, ‘So you spend an hour and a half with your son, but then spend two hours on your computer.’

“No. I’m with my son in the house all the time.

“I just didn’t write down, ‘Had a tickle with Sid, playing around the living room.’ You’re not logging every minute of the day. I just logged the blocks.”

Wallace added: “So it didn’t mean that’s all I saw [of ] him that day.

“If you’re living in a house with someone, you’re interacting with them all the time. Not only that – that is a snapshot of one Saturday. And the other thing as well – and I’m almost going to cry over this – people saying that Sid was unwanted.

“It took us two years to conceive with Sid. Two years.”

Wallace’s wife, Anne-marie “Anna” Sterpini, is 21 years his junior. They met on X, formerly Twitter, when she asked him a question about rhubarb.

In the feature, Wallace said of his afternoons: “I like to spend time with my four-year-old son, Sid, who’s non-verbal autistic.

“He used to be in his own world but he’s starting to seek company and show eye contact. We’ll potter in the garden and play with our two dogs, Wally and Bella.”

Wallace also has two grown-up children from a previous marriage.

The presenter said that from 3pm, he plays Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia, a history-based computer game.

After the feature was widely shared online, some readers compared Wallace to the comedic fictional presenter Alan Partridge, after he shared the fact he enjoys a cooked breakfast with his PA in his local Harvester.

“I’ve regularly been disappointed in three-star Michelin restaurants around Europe but never in a Harvester,” he explained.