Gregg Wallace has responded to audience backlash regarding an interview where he detailed his weekend routine, saying he was "deeply saddened".
In an interview with The Telegraph the 59-year-old presenter detailed his weekend routine, which included playing with his son, Sid, who is autistic and non-verbal, preparing dinner for his family and spending two hours by himself playing a computer strategy game.
The interview ended up going viral, with much mockery aimed at Wallace for some of his choices, but more serious criticism was aimed at him for seemingly not spending much time with his son.
Speaking with The Telegraph since the interview went viral Wallace expressed his concern at the backlash.
"I was deeply saddened by the idea I didn't spend any time with Sid"
Discussing the criticism Wallace said: "I didn't mind the mickey taking about Alan Partridge, that I understood. But I was deeply saddened by the idea I didn't spend any time with Sid, I was deeply hurt by that. And I'm also a little bit concerned about society at large right now where mass online bullying seems to be some sort of crazy spectator sport.
"You play with your son in the garden. You make dinner for your family and you've played on a computer game, but all of a sudden some people were calling me a monster. You're taking the blocks of time out. You give a whole interview and the blocks are taken out. That's not all of your time. It doesn't say I sat with my mother in law and had tea.
"It doesn't say crawling around on the floor of the living room tickling Sid whilst Anna [his wife Anne-Marie Sterpini] giggled, because it's not every minute of the day.
"You're picking chunks out. I was up at five that morning. Do you know why? Because Sid was up at five that morning."
Wallace has also spoken in past interviews about how he was not planning on having another child until he met his wife, who is 22 years younger than him.
She wanted to have a family and their relationship blossomed and so he agreed to the change of plan for his life, The Mirror reported.
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Wallace added: " "I fell madly in love with Anna. I had never met anybody like that. And we had a conversation early on where she said 'you do realise that I'm gonna want to get married and have a baby. That's what I want'. And I said to her, 'I wouldn't have chosen at my age to have a child. I was a single parent [in the past after previous marriage].
"'However, I perfectly understand your position as a young woman and I love you madly, so I'm more than happy. Let's have a child.'
"Now, journalists know that and it's easy to research that and find that. So to wilfully misrepresent, that is dishonest and spiteful. It's just not fair and it is not right."
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