Why Gordon Ramsay won’t be hosting MasterChef Australia

Network Ten will soon to announce its replacements for Matt Preston, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan as hosts of MasterChef Australia — but don’t expect fiery UK chef Gordon Ramsay to take over.

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Despite a few red herrings and some wild theories, it seems the shortlist for MasterChef’s new hosts is tightening up, with Ten soon to announce its replacements for Matt Preston, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan.

Sunday Confidential hears that bosses at production company Shine had hoped to lure Gordon Ramsay to the gig but were hamstrung by the fact that Ramsay — who has appeared on the show several times as a guest judge — is just too damn expensive.

Gordon Ramsay has previously been a guest star on MasterChef Australia. Picture: Channel 10

In fact Ramsay’s fee of about $3 million for his four-episode stint on the recent season of the amateur cook-off allegedly cost more than the annual salaries of Calombaris, Preston and Mehigan combined.

But it’s not just his fee that’s the issue. Ramsay’s schedule is also apparently chock-a-block, with the fiery British chef said to be “fully booked” through until 2021.

That leaves their number-two pick, Marco Pierre White, as the frontrunner for a spot on the show — a prospect made easier by the fact Preston is no longer on the show.

(Pierre-White and Preston famously hate each other — a rivalry that stems from comments made by Preston about Pierre-White’s son).

This was the final years as hosts of MasterChef for George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston. Picture: Channel 10

Pierre-White is also now a free agent following the, er, lacklustre response to his axed show Hell’s Kitchen on Seven.

That leaves the second spot which is rumoured to be headed in the direction of Ten personalities and MasterChef alumni Poh Ling Yeow or Justine Schofield.

Confidential hears Shine is likely to round out the hosting panel with a well-known food critic.