Former Masterchef judges prevented from hosting TV shows on rival networks

Looking forward to the TV comeback of Masterchef Australia’s ousted judges? You may have to wait a little longer — this is why we won’t be seeing George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston on our screens for a while.

Culinary kings George Calombaris, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan will be unable to resurrect their TV hosting careers at year’s end due to clauses in their contracts.

The ousted MasterChef trio have been in the sights of commercial TV rivals since their shock parting from Channel 10 earlier this year.

Channel 7 is understood to be keen to add at least two of the three to its stable of stars.

Industry rumours suggest Seven has a new cooking show in the works for late 2020 and sees Preston and Mehigan as ideal ingredients.

But Preston, Mehigan and Calombaris are unable to quickly bounce back on to TV screens.

The trio are out of contract with Ten at the end of 2019, but each is believed to have a clause — known as a hold-back — to prevent them switching to a commercial rival for months after that.

The trio hosted Masterchef Australia for 11 seasons. Picture: Supplied.

Calombaris, who is not thought to be on Seven’s radar, is understood to have an even longer hold-back period.

The clause does not stop the trio signing with streaming services or filming for overseas markets.

The trio are understood to be keen to do a program in India where their fan base is big. South Africa and Portugal also present opportunities.

Justine May, who represents Mehigan, said yesterday there was plenty of interest in the trio.

“They are honouring their contractual obligations to Ten and are looking forward to some really exciting things happening in 2020,” she said.

The George, Gary and Matt clause is good news for the new MasterChef line-up announced last week.

Channel 10’s bold gamble to cast three lesser lights as hosts — Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo — is less likely to be exposed by the former stars attracting viewers elsewhere.

The new Masterchef judges have been revealed as Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo. Picture: Damian Shaw.

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The lower-budget trio will also allow Channel 10 to chase a cherrypicked line-up of superstar chefs to appear alongside already confirmed guest judges Curtis Stone, Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal.

Ten’s chief content officer Beverley McGarvey said the network was confident it had picked a winning combination.

“We do not see the casting as a risk, we see it as a massive opportunity,” Ms McGarvey said.

“Our audience responds really well to new talent and love the discovery element of getting to know new people.”

The new season of MasterChef is expected to start filming in January, rather than at the end of November as previously.

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