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Gary Mehigan on the MasterChef bench

Gary Mehigan has had to miss shooting episodes of MasterChef after that nasty fall.

After his recent fall in a car park, MasterChef judge Gary Mehigan has been all but out of action for some filming of the TEN series.

The slip required surgery on his knee and thigh while the show has had to continue on with its production.

The Daily Telegraph reports that celebrity chef Matt Moran (The Chopping Block, MasterChef Australia) has had to step in as a frequent guest to cover for Mehigan, who is expected to return this weekend thanks to a pair of crutches.

Mehigan’s absence will impact on the show in later weeks.

The newspaper also quotes rival sources (or is that sauces?) acknowledging that My Kitchen Rules has been partly designed to undermine viewer interest in the cooking genre.

But with figures topping 1.5m this week, could it have possibly done the opposite?

I wouldn’t be surprised if almost every one of those MKR viewers actually wants more, and they will get it in the form of MasterChef. Could it possibly have just reminded them why they enjoyed TEN’s show last year in the first place?

And then there is the Matt Preston factor -easily the television find of 2009. As enjoyable as MKR has been, nobody comes close to his theatrical, exuberant personality.

But the key to the show’s good fortune will be its casting. Word is that after the country got a look at the show the first time around, some real zingers have stepped up to be noticed this year. Expect the quality of food to soar.

Source (sauce): Daily Telegraph

8 Responses

  1. I like both shows! Havent watched CDWM. Couple of flaws with MC is (1) that the eliminations should be about the cooking and not the running of a restaurant – to be in the elimination due to seating someone early has no impact on what sort of cook you are and (2) all the crying!! I know it can get emotional but goodness me – it will be Mastersook next season. MKR is all about cooking really, only eliminated on the standard of the dish served up. And it had its fair share of upsets too, but not as bad as MC has been so far.

  2. MKR is more like CDWMMC. [Come Dine With Me Master Chef style]. I think it’s really cheesy and repetitive. I mean Pete always tells them how much time they have, yet they know. I also think having the other teams see them cook and root or cheer them is like saying; ‘we want everyone to win and we have no narcissism or negatives’. They could have walked in with the other judges and then see them work, then leave to another room or just do it at their home. I Also have to say I thought it was finding the best Aussie kitchen, not cooks. The MKR guest judges are just too different and they are not all top chefs. Guy Grossi is 1, Toby Puttok, is 2 but, Karen Martini is top but not Master top. She seems to be giving us a BHKR or Better Homes and Kitchens Rules type thing. Jacqui just got in because she had some Ready Steady Cook appearances. It clearly suggest 7 wants in on MC. And the promotion of season 2 of MC is nothing short of creative, theater on a tv plate, whereas 7 is just trying too hard. Look at the figures. 1.3-5 Mon + Tues mkr, 1.5-8 Sun-Fri MC. They have more fans and seem to give more.

  3. MKR was an ok show the only thing it did for me was fill the gap between now and Masterchef starting; it hasn’t made me tune out of masterchef if anything its made me think of it more and how much I can’t wait for it to return.

    I don’t think MKR will have any affect whatsoever on Masterchef. Seven are sly monkeys aren’t they.

  4. I’m still not sure how 7 can lay claim to an original format for MKR when the first half was blatantly Come Dine with Me and the second half blatantly (a cheap) rip off of Masterchef.

    Hopefully people will recognise the quality difference when MC goes to air in April

  5. David, the first Masterchef promo is here if you want to add it to the story:
    youtube.com/watch?v=uYW0je3IcGg&annotation_id=annotation_601146&feature=iv

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