Why Ibby Moubadder has no regrets about his time on MKR

My Kitchen Rules ‘bad guy’ Ibby Moubadder says he has no regrets about his reality TV stint. This comes as TV experts say that the reality TV trend of prioritising staged storylines over subject matter is becoming increasingly popular.

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Storm outs, confrontations, strategic voting and secret advantages — cooking show My Kitchen Rules has made more headlines for its drama than the food this season. And TV experts say that the reality TV trend of prioritising staged storylines over subject matter is becoming increasingly popular.

The hunger for arguments and villains is only strengthened by bold contestants such as this season’s breakout stars Ibby Moubadder and his partner Romel Kouyan, who copped flack for scoring strategically to eliminate competitors from the opposing group in the early stages of the competition.

Sydney socialites Ibby and Romel have been labelled bad guys for voting strategically on MKR.

The pair later confessed the tactic to their fellow competitors, with Romel admitting: “Cheating? Yeah, look, ultimately it is.”

The bout of honesty did not go down well around the table. Moubadder says while he doesn’t regret scoring strategically, he admits in this instance honesty wasn’t the best policy.

“People do it every year but they just don’t own up to it. We wanted to be honest about it,” he tells BW Magazine.

“Don’t own up to it, just hide it … I thought people would respect (honesty) but they didn’t.

“I feel bad about what happened (but) I don’t regret what I did.”

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Moubadder and Kouyan aren’t the only “villains” this season, with homeschooled brothers Josh and Austin Bonwick raising eyebrows and hackles among their rivals with their often controversial comments.

But at home, Moubadder is far from the villain, especially when it comes to doting on his precious cat Belle.

“Sure dogs are more loving but cats love you on their terms,” he says.

“I have actually grown up with cats since I was a baby. I don’t get why anybody wouldn’t like cats.”

My Kitchen Rules contestant Ibby Moubadder with his cat Belle. Picture: Richard Dobson

Viewership expert Steve Molk says even when filming is over, audiences aren’t so quick to forget on-screen behaviour.

“The way that they are building Josh and Austin and Ibby and Romel (into villains) … when those boys go back to their jobs, either people will go ‘That’s OK we already knew who you were’ or people’s perception of them will have changed,” he says.

And Molk says it’s not always a case of the editors making contestants look bad as some have claimed in the past.

“The producers can’t make you say things, or edit together words from five sentences to string together something horrible,” he says.

Despite the added on-screen drama in My Kitchen Rules this year, ratings have not soared for the reality show, which this season celebrates its 10th year.

Romel and Ibby cooking on My Kitchen Rules.

Molk says it is unlikely the show’s producers will abandon their strategy of more drama, especially at a time when the audience appetite is clearly for something other than food.

“It’s been all about relationships and drama and anything but cooking,” he says.

“Seven had to pull out all the stops. Up until last season, My Kitchen Rules was almost the most unbeatable thing on TV. It led the year for Seven, it guaranteed a strong start and a lot of things benefited off that.

“While they couldn’t have predicted the ratings this season, absolutely the producers would be going, ‘So how can we raise the bar, lift it all up so people are watching our drama and not some other drama?’.”

Molk says the shift in focus from cooking skills to drama had a lot to do with the casting.

“Contestants are coming on because you might be able to cook but primarily you have 30,000 followers on Instagram or you are looking for a career and you see this as a leg-up,” he says.