Ten has announced that Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris have stood down as judges in the next season of MasterChef Australia.
The hit cooking show has been rocked by scandal of recent weeks – see video for details.
The move has been confirmed on the show’s official Instagram account, which revealed that George, Matt and Gary are out.
Following a financial scandal that enveloped Calombaris, whose business had been underpaying workers by millions of dollars, it’s been reported that the judges were unable to come to a suitable contractual agreement with Ten.
“Across 11 sensational seasons, MasterChef Australia has established itself as one of the most popular and respected cooking television series around the world… We would like to thank Gary, George and Matt for their contribution over the past 11 years,” said the network in a statement.
The Sydney Morning Herald claims that the trio – each on salaries in excess of $1 million – walked after 10 refused to up their pay by more than 40 per cent.
The cooking reality show – once the highest-rating program in Australia – will return in 2020, with a panel of new judges yet to be announced.
The Fair Work Commission has fined Calombaris $200,000 for underpaying 515 staff to the tune of $7.83million between 2011 and 2017.
Staff have been repaid but the scandal lingers, with George not only out of his WA tourism gig, but now out of TV as well.
No casting news has been announced for the next season. It is unusual for the entire cast of a hit show to be replaced in one hit – sparking ongoing speculation as to exactly what went down, and why.
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