Matt Sinclair to become MasterChef mentor
QUEENSLAND success story Matt Sinclair will return to MasterChef next year — but not as a contestant or one-off mentor.
Confidential
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QUEENSLAND success story Matt Sinclair has been hand-picked to take over Shannon Bennett’s mentoring role on MasterChef next year.
The Sunshine Coast cook, who finished runner-up on the Channel 10 cooking competition in 2016, will share the coveted position with 2009 runner-up Poh Ling Yeow and 2015 winner Billie McKay.
Sinclair, who co-owns popular restaurant Sum Yung Guys at Sunshine Beach, said he jumped at the chance to be involved in season 11 of the show that changed his life.
“It’s amazing — you look at how many people have gone through in the past 10 years and to be picked as one of the three that get to go back is incredible,” he said.
The changes were announced at Network 10s Upfronts event in Sydney on Wednesday, along with much of the station’s program slate for 2019.
Channel 10 is set to get a jump on its rivals by rolling out I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here more than a fortnight earlier than usual, chopped from six weeks to around four from January 13.
Ten also has a new-look logo and is rebranding its Eleven digital channel as 10 Peach and its One digital channel 10 Boss in a corporate facelift. 10 Boss will target audiences over 40 and 10 Peach with chase 16 to 39-year-olds.
“It has been 27 years since we have had a rebrand so it is long overdue,” Ten program chief Beverly McGarvey said.
Rove McManus was a big winner with Ten commissioning his Pilot Week show Bring Back Saturday Night. He will also host the second season of Show Me the Movie!
Other Pilot Week shows picked up were Taboo, Kinne Tonigh t and Trial By Kyle.
Ten will also roll out three new Aussie dramas aimed at women — Five Bedrooms, The Secrets She Keeps, and My Life is Murder, which stars Xena’s Lucy Lawless.
There will be new seasons of Bachelor in Paradise, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette as well as another Australia Survivor Champions v Contenders.
Other programs include makeover show Changing Rooms with Natalie Bassingthwaighte and new comedy Mr Black.
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