The BBC will not show its MasterChef Christmas specials following allegations against the show’s presenter Gregg Wallace.

The MasterChef presenter faces various allegations including making “inappropriate sexual jokes”, which he denies.

Now the BBC has taken the decision to pull two MasterChef specials from its Christmas schedule.

A BBC spokesperson said: “As we have said, MasterChef is an amazing competition which is life-changing for the chefs taking part and the current series of MasterChef: The Professionals is continuing as planned.

“The celebrity Christmas specials are obviously a different type of show and in the current circumstances we have decided not to broadcast them.”

Three episodes of BBC Two’s Inside The Factory, which are repeats, are also coming out of the schedule, the BBC said.

On Monday, Wallace apologised for claiming complaints about his behaviour came from “a handful of middle-class women of a certain age”, adding he will now “take some time out”.

Posting a video on his Instagram stories on Monday to issue an apology, he said: “I want to apologise for any offence that I caused with my post yesterday and any upset I may have caused to a lot of people.

“I wasn’t in a good headspace when I posted it, I’ve been under a huge amount of stress, a lot of emotion, I felt very alone, under siege yesterday when I posted it.

“It’s obvious to me I need to take some time out, now while this investigation is under way. I hope you understand and I do hope you will accept this apology.”

It follows a backlash to the comments made over the weekend with Downing Street saying his response to the accusations was “inappropriate and misogynistic”.

The 60-year-old faces allegations from 13 people across a range of shows over a 17-year period, as reported by BBC News on Thursday, with many others sharing their experiences in recent days.

Wallace’s lawyers say “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.

Last Thursday, it was announced that Wallace is to step away from the hit BBC cooking show while historical misconduct complaints are externally reviewed by the producer Banijay UK.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has since held talks with BBC bosses in the wake of the Wallace investigation.

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The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said on Monday: “The Culture Secretary spoke with the BBC leadership at the end of last week on this matter and wider workplace culture issues to seek assurances that there are robust processes in place to deal with complaints.

“Clearly the comments we have seen from the individual over the weekend were completely inappropriate and misogynistic.

“More broadly the BBC is conducting an independent review into workplace culture which must deliver clear and timely recommendations. It’s essential that staff and the wider public have confidence that the BBC takes these issues seriously.”