Gregg Wallace won't put blame on himself for his son's autism.
Gregg Wallace won't blame himself
The 58-year-old star has opened up about his four-year-old boy Sid - who was diagnosed with autism last year and is struggling to get an education, health and care plan (EHCP) from the local council - following a number of studies suggesting that older parents are more likely than younger men and women to have a child with autism.
He told The Times newspaper's T2 magazine: "It could be that. It doesn't trouble me. Blame is for God and small children.
"It doesn't make it any better if we go: it's my fault."
The 'MasterChef' star and his wife Anna welcomed their first child - Gregg's fourth - 13 months ago, and he admitted he had some time "almost like mourning" after Sid's diagnosis.
He added: "You go through a period of almost like mourning. Like, my God, I haven't got the child I thought I had."
Last year, Gregg revealed his boy had to wait until he was three years old to be officially diagnosed.
Appearing on ITV's 'Loose Women', he said: "Syd has autism... He's three, you can't legally diagnose it in this country until they are two-and-a-half, but we knew at about a year old that we had some issues."
He told the daytime TV show that he and Anna noticed he "wasn't answering to his name" or "playing peek-a-boo".
He explained: "He was walking and running around but he's got autism and he's got something called global development delay. So he's not speaking...
"But he is lovely and he is cuddly and he is happy. And if he wants something he grabs your hand and takes you. Honestly, if you think you might have an issue, go and see someone."
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