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MasterChef Australia judges out for 2020

Updated: 10 fails to reach agreement but George, Gary & Matt claim it was never about the money.

10 has confirmed all three MasterChef Australia judges will not be returning in 2020, after failing to reach contract arrangements.

The shock announcement comes just hours before the 2019 grand final, now set to serve as their swan song.

It also follows a string of headlines and  social media posts calling for the network to dump George Calombaris over staff underpayments by MAdE Establishment. Only last week the network was backing it’s judge of 11 seasons.

Network 10 chief executive officer Paul Anderson said: “Despite months of negotiation, 10 has not been able to reach a commercial agreement that was satisfactory to Matt, Gary and George.

“Across 11 sensational seasons, MasterChef Australia has established itself as one of the most popular and respected cooking television series around the world. For more than a decade, the iconic series has shaped and driven the Australian public’s passion for food and cooking, delivered iconic television moments, and made the culinary dreams of everyday home cooks come true.

“We would like to thank Gary, George and Matt for their contribution over the past 11 years,” he said.

MasterChef Australia has always been about ordinary Australians doing extraordinary things for the love of food and we believe it is very important to continue that ethos.

“Australia is full of remarkable cooking talent and we can’t wait to introduce another group – and the next generation of exceptional judges – in season 12 of MasterChef Australia next year.”

Who Magazine claims Maggie Beer, Curtis Stone, and Poh Ling Yeow will replace the trio.

Updated:

On Instagram Matt Preston said:

Thank you so very much for supporting @masterchefau over the last 11 years. We have loved every single moment.

It is however with a heavy heart that I can confirm that season 11 was our last.
We were really keen to continue but we were unable to agree to all terms for the new contract.

We have enjoyed 11 wonderful years on Masterchef Australia with Network Ten, and I want to take this opportunity to thank Ten for this amazing opportunity and for Network Ten’s backing of this very special show.

We have met some beautiful people, discovered and guided some of the brightest up-and-comers in the Australian food scene, worked with the best chefs in the world in front of the camera, and with the TV industry’s finest professionals behind the scenes.

And of course, we three judges have formed a lifelong friendship that will live on far beyond the show.

I want to take this opportunity to thank you and everyone who has shared our amazing journey with us – especially all those fantastic contestants.

I look forward to sharing many more adventures with you in the future.
And finally I wish the new judges all the best with the show that we love so much.

Thank you all.

I don’t want to take any gloss off tonight’s well deserved winner so I will not be making any further comment.

Love Matt.

Gary Mehigan said:

To all of our fans ‘thank you’ To the team that makes MasterChef ‘thank you’ and to all of the contestants that we know and love, we are all part of a very exclusive club and what a journey what an experience. To explain: ‘It was time to move on, have more free time to explore our own creativity’ It was never about the money and never will be about the money. We couldn’t agree on the term of the new contract for 2020 and season 12. Something we felt very strongly about. The opportunity to work with Matt and George has been a blessing and something I cherish. Working together will continue to be the most important thing for us…..the three musketeers…….?

George Calombaris said:

@masterchefau geez you have warmed our hearts, filled our stomachs and sizzled our souls.
To the great contestants of the past 11 years, you ought to be proud.
To the incredible @masterchefau team that works so hard to make the best cooking show on earth, we salute you.
To our families, friends and teams who have supported us, you freakin’ rock.
We were close to signing a new contract for season 12 however the dates just didn’t align. Channel Ten, thank you for providing us the platform to change the landscape of food worldwide.
To the next 3 judges and mentors, we wish you loads of success.
To my brothers @mattscravat and @garymehigan: I love you and thank you. Time to take a deep breath and be thankful.
With love
GC ? xxx

80 Responses

  1. Mmm, and what will these three boys be up to in the future? No one in their right mind leaves that gig without something on the horizon. Any clues?

  2. Having those three as the new judges won’t work. You need chemistry between judges to make it work-how do you think the show went on as long as it did?

    And if Who claims they have the info then it must be true.

  3. love the show love the format rateigns of 600-700 thousand is very good ratings all my relatives in England watch the show religiously .its shown overseas.and a huge hit there does not bother me who is judging only one i would miss is Matt with his out there suits so new judges wont hurt the programme as long as they are flamboyant out there big names like Nigella would be awesome . its all about the food and the dishes the drama , to be honest i am glad George is gone after the wages scandal ripping off his restaurant staff i found it hard to watch with him on the show.

  4. Such dignified sign-offs from the three judges. A shame we couldn’t have a Project special on 11 years of MasterChef or something coz that is an incredible run for any show with the same cast. The suggestion of Maggie Beer as judge is absolute genius and is one of the few ways a reboot could work. And to those saying the numbers aren’t of the same level of Ninja, they were when the show was as young as Ninja. Let’s see that (also excellent) show do today’s numbers in eight years.

    1. They would need to take care. While I personally like her, she is very polarising, and I have seen many commenters who would be appalled to have her. It seems about 50/50. I also think that she doesn’t have the personality style required. In fact, none of the people I have seen suggested seem to fit the bill – time for new faces.

    2. Maggie Beer is a legend, and deservedly so. But she’s also 74. She’s also just sold her controlling stake in the food business she started, apparently because she feels it’s time to slow down. So I seriously doubt she’d be up for the long hard slog (including loads of travel and PR) involved in Masterchef. Let’s be real: magazines like Who and New Idea are 90% fiction these days. If you find a few grains of truth in their reports it’s purely accidental.

  5. It will be refreshing to have 3 new hosts. Shows can get stale after a while.
    In other news outlets, it’s saying it was about the money and wanting a 40 percent pay rise from their already million dollar a season contracts.

    1. You’re right, I didn’t even bother with the last couple of series. A 40% pay rise? Maybe George was hoping they’d offer him $7.8M lol!

  6. MasterChef really will be DisasterChef next year, clueless execs will not be able to confect the chemistry that these 3 have

  7. About time. Of course, Calombaris had to go, but the show has become so lacklustre that wholesale change was needed. Looking forward to Poh as one of the replacements.

  8. This has been a real Top Gear moment. One goes, they all go. Maybe they will switch networks and try a new format like Clarkson, May and Hammond did. A Grand Culinary Tour, perhaps?

  9. Maybe conspiracy theory here, but the timing of the announcement on the day of the Finale smells badly of a ratings grab. Yes, it had to be announced, but I for one will admit to watching the Finale last night after not watching the whole last few seasons just for the history of it and seeing them together for the last time on MC after reading the news. Was also #1 conversation at work late yesterday and also on the train home. Two of the 3 judges now “announced” or rumoured were discussed yesterday by us at work!

    Who wants to bet at least one of them will end up on MKR next year?

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