MasterChef’s Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan to team up with MKR rival
TV’s worst kept secret has been confirmed: MasterChef’s Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan are moving to Seven, and the new chef completing their trio has been revealed.
Former MasterChef judges Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan have officially secured a new hosting gig on Seven, leaving embattled former teammate George Calombaris behind.
The national foodie icons will instead embark on a new project with a long-running rival in place of Calombaris: My Kitchen Rules judge Manu Feildel.
Today’s surprising announcement comes after Matt Preston shut down rumours he and Mehigan would be taking over as judges on MKR, following wide speculation the duo had been in talks with Seven.
“I can confirm that I am talking to other networks and producers about new projects for 2020 and beyond,” Preston told news.com.au earlier this month.
“Taking over MKR as host/judge is not on the agenda! I have too much love for Manu, Colin and Pete to do that!”
Announced in Seven’s full 202 line-up released today, the two former MasterChef judges will head a new program with Fieldel called Plate of Origin, launching around the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Dubbed “the Olympics of cooking”, the program will see teams showcase different cuisines in a competitive setting.
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There had been whispers for months that Channel 7 was keen to sign both Preston and Mehigan without Calombaris, who earlier this year was fined $200,000 for underpaying staff from his restaurant empire more than $7.8 million in wages.
But the reason for Calombaris’ being left out of the deal could be due to his agreement with Ten.
The three former MasterChef stars, who were sensationally dropped by Channel 10 in July, are all contracted to the network until the end of the year, but they each have a different “hold back” agreement with the network that stipulates how long their have to wait before they can sign with other commercial networks in Australia.
According to the Herald Sun’s Fiona Byrne, Calombaris’ “hold back” clause with Channel 10 was longer than Preston and Mehigan’s.
With this in mind, Preston had previously told news.com.au their main priority as a trio would be to pursue international endeavours, which the “hold back” clause doesn’t cover.
“The feedback we have all received in person on our travels and online from so many of the 20 million fans around the world who loved watching the ‘three musketeers’ on TV confirms that we’d be mad not to continue making TV together overseas for the international market,” he told news.com.au.
“This is something we all look forward to doing when the time is right.”
It was announced at today that Preston and Mehigan would be embarking on the new project with Fieldel.
Meanwhile, Channel 10 announced earlier this month that Mehigan, Preston and Calombaris would be replaced on MasterChef next year by Jock Zonfrillo, Melissa Leong and Andy Allen.
Elsewhere in Seven’s line-up announcement, it was confirmed Fieldel would be continuing as a judge on MKR, which will follow a different format next year.
MY KITCHEN RULES: THE RIVALS
In a first for the wildly popular cooking competition, five former favourites will go head-to-head with five new teams.
Each group will live together in House Manu or House Colin, with the former judges acting as team mentors, while Pete Evans serves as the impartial judge.
According to a statement from Seven, the program will see “a hint of romance” amid the fierce competition.
HOUSE RULES: HIGH STAKES
The renovation program will return next year without its veteran host, Johanna Griggs, who quit after all seven seasons in July.
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Former judge Jamie Durie will instead take the reins, joined by sports journalist Abbey Gelmi.
Meanwhile, judge Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen will be joined by interior design entrepreneur Kyly Clarke and home builder Saul Myers on the judging panel.
As for the competition itself, eight new teams will transform a high-rise penthouse on the Gold Coast.
POOCH PERFECT
In a rather surprising career move, Hollywood star Rebel Wilson will host Channel 7’s new pet-themed competitive reality show, Pooch Perfect.
The reality program set to air next year follows 10 professional dog stylists from around the country as they compete in a series of themed challenges to transform their beloved fur babies.
The winner — determined by a panel of industry experts — will take home $100,000.
Sydney native Wilson, 39, grew up regularly attending dog shows with her professional dog handler parents.
The star said in a Channel 7 statement that the hosting role was right up her alley.
“My childhood was full of weekend adventures at dog shows all around Australia and my family had a business selling pet products out of a caravan — such as leads, treats and the best dog styling equipment available,” Wilson said.
“This show with Seven is going to be a ton of fun and showcase some amazing dogs and dog lovers. Technically I’m allergic to dogs though … so hopefully they can edit around my sneezing!”
BIG BROTHER
Five years on from Big Brother’s final season on Channel 9, Seven has confirmed the beloved reality show is returning — to a brand new network home — in 2020.
The program originally launched in Australia on Ten in 2001, running for eight seasons and dominating ratings as it went.
During its first Aussie run, the show wasn’t without controversy — with the infamous 2006 “turkey-slap” incident leading to two sexual assault accusations and former prime minister John Howard calling for the show to be cancelled immediately.
According to Seven’s line-up announcement today, the reboot will see “show stopping twists.”
A host has not yet been announced, with rumours Gretel Killeen could return as host promptly shut down earlier this month.
Rob McKnight from TV Blackbox told Nova’s Chrissie, Sam and Browny that Killeen won’t be returning to the show.
“My sources are telling me it’s not going to happen,” McKnight said. “Gretel will not be doing the show.”
FARMER WANTS A WIFE
Joining the list of exciting reality reboots planned for 2020, Farmer Wants a Wife will return after four years absent from our screens.
Responsible for nine marriages and 19 babies in Australia, it is known as the nation’s most successful dating show. Applications for contestants opened earlier this month via this link.
NOTABLE OMISSIONS
The Proposal was not included in the 2020 line-up. The omission comes after disappointing ratings in its first week this August. Airing at 8.30pm, it pulled a mere 307,000 viewers (five city metro), up against Seachange (548,000), Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds (478,000) and Australian Survivor (804,000).
Super Switch — which followed couples who agreed to swap partners in order to fix their fractured relationships — was also missing from the list, as was family experiment Bride and Prejudice, currently in its third season.
NEW PROGRAMS
SAS: Who Dares Wins — Fourteen Aussie celebrities will attempt to overcome the intensive SAS selection process led by an elite group of ex-Special Forces soldiers.
Mates on a Mission — Shane Jacobson, Todd McKenney, Kris Smith and Brian “BT” Taylor take on challenges around the world in this new travel comedy series.
RFDS — Starring Justine Clarke (Rake, The Time Of Our Lives), Rob Collins (The Wrong Girl) and Stephen Peacocke, new action-drama RFDS follows stories of the Royal Flying Doctor Service based on real-life events.
Wife Swap — A bold new social experiment which will see two wives with opposing parenting styles swap lives and families. Seven has revealed that in one episode, a cashed-up mum of privately schooled children swaps lives with a hippy mum of eight unschooled kids who live on a bus.
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