Matt Preston’s TV comeback as Dancing With The Stars cast line-up announced

Former MasterChef judge Matt Preston is making his TV comeback, after he was announced as a contestant on another reality series.

Matt Preston is swapping taste testing for his tapping shoes.

The 61-year-old food critic, who was a judge on MasterChef for a decade, has been announced among the cast for the upcoming season of Dancing With The Stars on Channel 7.

Preston, who left Network Ten in 2019, took to Instagram on Friday morning with a photo of himself on the set, seemingly filming a promotional video for the reality series. His caption read: “So, time for something totally new and way out of my comfort zone!”

Matt Preston is making his TV comeback on DWTS.

Daryl Somers and Sonia Kruger return as hosts, with a stack of local stars set to hit the dance floor.

Former The Bachelor winner turned radio host Laura Byrne is also part of the line-up, as well as Australian actors Mary Coustas, Christie Whelan Browne, Emily Weir, Virginia Gay and Pia Miranda.

Laura Byrne is among the cast. Picture: Richard Dobson

As is celebrity gardener Charlie Albone. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

TV personalities Charlie Albone, from Better Homes and Gardens, and Issa Shultz from The Chase Australia, are also vying for the trophy, alongside performers Paulini and Human Nature singer Phil Burton.

Representing sport, Olympians Sally Pearson and James Magnussen and AFL legend Gavin Wanganeen make up the cast.

The celebrities will be divided into two groups, and will hit the dance floor on alternate nights across the season. The leaderboard will be determined by a combination of judges’ scores and scores from the studio audience.

The full cast of the 2023 season of DWTS.

Byrne, who shot to fame on Matty J’s season of The Bachelor in 2017, said on KIIS FM’s The Pick Up on Thursday she had been rehearsing for up to 25 hours a week.

“I’ve been training my absolute a**e off, literally my a**e is gone – look how flat it is. I’ve got nothing left on me,” she said.

“I am so unbelievably bad I look like a baby giraffe that’s just been birthed. Or like a praying mantis or stick insect when they’re about to move forward and they go back and forth before they move.”

Matty J, who was a contestant on the show in 2021, called into the show to give his wife some hot tips.

“It’s hard work, it’s dedication, you’ve got to put in the hours, you’ve got to stay really focused,” he said.

“Something that I did which really helped me is you get a little bit of wax, just a little bit, not too much, and you rub it on everyone else’s shoes just before they go out and it helps that little bit more,” he joked.

“It’s not cheating – I guess, any little advantage that you can give yourself over the others I think you have to take.”

Seven didn’t reveal an official air date, adding DWTS would return to screens soon.

Gold Logie winner Grant Denyer won the series last year for the second time, having earlier taken home the trophy in 2006.