According to friends of Gregg Wallace, the former Masterchef host is "unable to wear underwear". It was reported that Wallace has "autistic hypersensitivity" which results in him having an "oddity of filters and boundaries" following a number of allegations made against his behaviour.

Wallace also reportedly suffers from exaggerated sensory experience, which has led to his alleged "inability to wear underwear because of his autistic hypersensitivity to labels and tight clothing", The Times reported. The update comes as the 60-year-old presenter has hit out at the BBC after claims of inappropriate behaviour while on set, as he claims that a diagnosis of autism is partly to blame. In a scathing statement on his Instagram account, he said: "Nothing was done to investigate my disability or protect me from what I now realise was a dangerous environment for over twenty years. That failure is now being quietly buried."

Wallace has apologised for some of the claims about his use of inappropriate "humour and language". But he has insisted that the most damaging claims against him are "baseless" and that he has been unfairly targeted by the BBC.

"I will not go quietly. I will not be cancelled for convenience," he said. "The BBC is no longer providing balanced and impartial public service journalism. It is peddling baseless and sensationalised gossip masquerading as properly corroborated stories."

A source close to the star also said: "So many people on the show talked openly about suspecting that he had autism for years before he got his diagnosis."

On Tuesday the BBC received 50 new claims over Wallace, including that he groped a worker on the show. An investigation into his misconduct allegations is set to be published later this week.

Patrick Holland, chief executive officer of Banijay UK, said that the investigation had been comprehensive. He said: "It's been a huge, in-depth piece of work, taking at least seven months, and has spoken to many, many witnesses."

He added: "Whilst we can never be complacent, there are now a myriad of ways for those who experience bad behaviour in the workplace to speak out, whether anonymously, via a hotline, or to dedicated welfare officers.

"We need to do all we can to ensure that everyone in production, in their most junior roles, feels confident to call out bad behaviour."