MasterChef Australia 2024 judge rumours swirl as Jamie Oliver headed to Australia

The new season of MasterChef Australia is due to begin filming later this year, with conflicting reports as to who will step in for the late Jock Zonfrillo.

MasterChef Australia is due to begin filming later this year, with Network 10 yet to announce who will step in to replace the late Jock Zonfrillo.

Media reports have been swirling this week that legendary British chef Jamie Oliver has been in talks for the gig, which would see him join existing judges Melissa Leong and Andy Allen, with a $2 million contract on the table.

This was further fuelled by Oliver’s recent announcement he will be in Australia November 11 to host an in conversation event with Leong at the Sydney Opera House, coinciding with filming which typically takes place from November into the next year at the Melbourne Showgrounds.

However, news.com.au understands Oliver, 48, who regularly appears as a guest judge on the cooking show, will not step in for Zonfrillo, who died in April aged 46.

Andy Allen, Jamie Oliver, Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo in MasterChef Australia 2023. Picture: Supplied/Channel 10

An announcement regarding MasterChef 2024 is set to be made at Ten’s Upfronts event, which will take place in the coming months.

According to TV sources, it’s highly possible just Leong and Allen will front the series in a bid to cut costs.

MasterChef is one of the most expensive productions on Australian TV, costing the network a rumoured $800,000 per episode. There were 50 episodes this year, bringing its annual spending up to around $40 million.

News.com.au has been told the judges are estimated to be on around $1 million each per season.

Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and the late Jock Zonfrillo became MasterChef judges in 2020. Picture: Channel 10

This doesn’t factor in the upcoming MasterChef spin-off series which was unveiled at last year’s Ten Upfronts.

Dessert Masters, which was slated to premiere this year but is yet to have an air date, will see Leong and Amaury Guichon step in as judges.

MasterChef 2023, the show’s 15th season, premiered to solid ratings on May 7, drawing 761,000 viewers across the five-city metro rankings, marking its biggest debut since 2020 which attracted 1.23 million viewers for Leong, Allen and Zonfrillo’s first season as judges.

It dipped to a low of 365,000 around halfway through the season, as it regularly jostled to win the timeslot against rival networks Seven and Nine, before climbing to 698,000 viewers for its finale in July.

A Channel 10 spokesperson said in a statement to news.com.au: “Information about the upcoming season of MasterChef Australia will be shared in the coming months.”

Brent Draper took out the MasterChef win for 2023. Picture: Channel 10

This year’s season was rocked by the unexpected news of Zonfrillo’s tragic death.

The Scottish chef died just one day before it was set to premiere on May 1, with the debut episode pushed back a week with the support of Zonfrillo’s family, including his widow, Lauren Fried.

Brent Draper was announced as the winner, taking home a cash prize of $250,000.

Rhiannon Anderson was the runner-up, pocketing $40,000, while Declan Cleary received $10,000 for finishing third.

Originally published as MasterChef Australia 2024 judge rumours swirl as Jamie Oliver headed to Australia