Gregg Wallace says autistic son is ‘fortunate’ but more funding is needed
The MasterChef UK judge is father to four-year-old Sid who is non-verbal autistic.
Gregg Wallace has said his autistic and non-verbal son is “very fortunate” but added that “extra funding” is needed for special educational needs as “autistic children do not fit in well with mainstream education”.
The 59-year-old MasterChef UK judge appeared on shopping channel QVC UK to talk about a rose, named after his four-year-old son Sid, which is being sold to help raise money for charity Ambitious About Autism.
The TV star, who is an ambassador for the charity, said: “A fiver on each one…. helps directly… young children with autism, because finding education for them is not easy.
“Let me tell you, we’re very fortunate, we got him (Sid) into a local special needs school, but autistic children do not fit in well with mainstream education, we do need extra funding.”
Speaking about the flower, Wallace added: “It’s a beautiful fragrance, to me it smells a little bit like vanilla and honey, but the flower itself is the same colour as Sid’s favourite.”
The Little Sid Rose has been created by British breeders Harkness Rose Company, and £5 from every sale is being donated to the charity for autistic children and young people.
It is being sold by YouGarden.com, Harkness Rose Company and World Of Roses, and will also be on display at the Chelsea Flower Show in May.
In March last year, Wallace stepped away from his BBC Two show Inside The Factory, telling Gaby Roslin’s show on BBC Radio London that Sid needed additional support with his education.
Wallace – who was the original presenter of long-running BBC cooking show Saturday Kitchen, and has featured on Eat Well For Less?, Turn Back Time, Harvest and Supermarket Secrets – shares Sid with Anne-Marie Sterpini, who he married in 2016.
Before his broadcasting career, Wallace worked at Covent Garden fruit and vegetable market before starting George Allan’s Greengrocers in 1989.
The TV presenter – who also has two children, Tom and Libby, from a previous relationship – took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2014 and was made an MBE in the 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to food and charity.
His most notable role is that of judge and co-presenter of BBC’s MasterChef since 2005 with celebrity chef John Torode.
