Pete Evans and Channel 7 part ways after TV chef was fined $25,000 by TGA

Controversial My Kitchen Rules judge Pete Evans has parted ways with Channel 7, bringing to an end a decade-long working relationship.

Channel 7 and controversial TV chef Pete Evans have parted ways.

Industry site TV Blackbox claimed “the separation was an amicable decision” and that Evans will now focus on his ‘alternative lifestyle’ empire.

Evans, who has appeared on every season of My Kitchen Rules since 2010, was rumoured to have been on an $800,000 contract with Channel 7.

News.com.au understands Evans will appear in some future episodes of Better Homes and Gardens which have already been filmed.

Channel 7 parted ways with Evans because there are currently no plans for another season of My Kitchen Rules. A decision as to whether the reality program will return in 2021 will be made later in the year.

MKR judges Manu Feildel and Pete Evans.

This year’s season of the long-running cooking show was a ratings disaster for Seven, with TV Blackbox editor Rob McKnight telling news.com.au in February: “My Kitchen Rules is dead. There won’t be any more of the show. You might as well write the eulogy and prepare the coffin … it will not be back again.”

Evans was recently slapped with $25,000 in fines by the Therapeutic Goods Administration over magical coronavirus eradication properties he claimed about a “BioCharger” device in a Facebook livestream promotion.

The TGA issued two infringement notices to the controversial health guru after receiving complaints about his promotion of the $14,990 machine.

Celebrity chef Pete Evans has spruiked the BioCharger, a machine he claims is a "subtle energy revitalisation platform that works to optimise your health”.

Channel 7 refused to comment on Evans after he was fined by the TGA which was a strong indicator that he had parted ways with the network, said TV commentator Steve Molk.

“If we was still a trusted, loved star within the network they would be front footing this,” Mr Molk said on the TV Blackbox podcast. “That we have heard nothing from them speaks volumes.”

Evans, a prominent paleo diet advocate, has attracted condemnation for a number of dubious health claims over the years.

He claimed in a Netflix documentary that the keto diet could assist people with autism, asthma and even cancer.

Last year he made headlines when he said that fluoride should not be put in the water supply.

“Fluoride is a known neurotoxin,” Evans told the Herald Sun. “If people choose to add fluoride then it should be their choice to do so. I cannot wait for it to be eliminated from being added to Australian water supplies.”

Associate Professor Matt Hopcraft, the chief executive of the Australian Dental Association Victorian Branch, said Evans should stick to what he knew and added: “There’s no evidence to link water fluoridation with health concerns.”

Colin Fassnidge, left, and judges Manu Feildel and Pete Evans on MKR.

In 2016 Evans also sparked controversy with his views on sunscreen.

During a Facebook Q+A, he said: “The silly thing is people put on normal chemical sunscreen then lay out in the sun for hours on end and think that they are safe because they have covered themselves in poisonous chemicals, which is a recipe for disaster as we are witnessing these days.”

And in 2015 a planned cookbook by Evans for mothers and babies was dropped from publication by the publisher over a baby broth recipe which contained 4.5 times the maximum Vitamin A dose for a baby.

According to Mr McKnight, Evans had always been a “protected species” at Channel 7 because My Kitchen Rules rated so strongly. But that all changed when this year’s season was a flop.

“As long as you’re rating you’re fine,” agreed TV commentator Sarah Monahan. “As soon as you lose ratings and you f**k up, you’re out.”

Colin Fassnidge and Pete Evans on MKR.

There are rumours that My Kitchen Rules will be replaced on air next year by Seven’s new cooking show Plate Of Origin which will feature Manu Feildel, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan.

News.com.au has contacted both Pete Evans and Channel 7 for comment.