Woman’s Day New Zealand – August 05, 2019

M

attPrestonand

GaryMehigan

havestoodbytheir

fellowMasterChef

Australiajudge

andembattled“lifelong”

friendGeorgeCalombaris

amidtherisingcontroversy

surroundinghiscompany’s

grossunderpaymentofstaff

to thetuneof around$8million.

Butonewell-placedinsider

tellsWoman’sDayit was

theireffortstotrytosave

George’sjobthatultimately

ledtothemleavingtheshow

after 11 years– oncetheTV

networkcalledtheirbluff

andstoppedthecontract

negotiationsonthespot.

“TVbosseshadknownabout

George’swagetheftaccusations

fora while,”aMasterChef

sourcesaysofthedisgraced

chef’sFairWorkCommission

scandal,whichresultedina

fineofover$200,000.

“Hehadgonetothemearly

sotheycouldgetacrossit and

getbehindhimoncethecourt

casestarted,buttheywere

worriedthisscandalwould

affect their ratings.”

Some reports say the three

judges were disgruntled after

trying but failing to secure a

40% increase on their alleged

$1 million salaries. But our

insider claims that when Gary,

52, and Matt, 57, were told of

Channel 10’s concerns about

George, 40, they closed ranks

• telling bosses they were a
  one-in, all-in package deal.
  “They made that ultimatum
  and the decision was made
  to clear the decks in a matter
  of hours,” says the source.
  “Ten and Shine [MasterChef’s
  production company] agreed
  by phone. The judges didn’t
  expect them to call their bluff,

judges’

READY-MADE

REPLACEMENTS

POHLINGYEOW CURTISSTONE MAGGIE BEER

Assoonasthetriogottheaxe,MasterChef

alumnusPohLing Yeow, celeb chef Curtis Stone

andseasonedcookMaggieBeerwere

tippedtotakeoverthe judging duties. “Maggie, Curtis

andPoharebelovedmembersoftheMasterChef

family,” says a Channel 10 spokesperson.

“Wearecurrentlycastingthejudgesfor

2020 andnodecision has been made.” Still, that hasn’t

stoppedfansandguestjudgeslikeNigella

Lawsonfrom weighing in, with the popular

BritishchefsuggestingKylieKwongcould be a good choice.

andtheywereshockedand

devastatedthatit backfired.

Theyhadnoback-upplan

anddidn’tevenwanttoleave.”

Ina pressreleasesentout

justhoursbeforetheseason

11 finalewenttoairinAustralia,

it statedthatanagreement

couldnotbereached.

ButwhileMattandGary’s

departurescameasa shock,

theinsiderclaimsGeorgewasn’t

a favouriteamongshowstaff

duetohis“rude”behaviour.

“Hehasbeenincreasingly

difficulttoworkwith,”alleges

thesource.“Georgewasalso

prioritisingtheshowless

andless.”

Thenetworkhasdenied

George’saxing

fromMasterChef

wasa directresultofhis

company’swagedisputeand

theensuingbacklash– but

20,000peoplesigneda petition

requestinghebesackedfrom

theshow.

Georgewasalsosensationally

letgoasthefaceofTourism

WA,afterhefeaturedinTV

advertisementsandonline

contentto“designyourown

gourmetescape”inWestern

Australia.

Atthetimeofprint,the

judges were still standing by

George, with Gary tweeting, “It

was never about the money.”

Matt also took to Facebook to

say that it was with “a heavy

heart” that he was confirming

they would be leaving the show.

He said they were “really keen

to continue” but were “unable

to agree to all of the terms for

the new contract”.

According to some reports,

the “three musketeers” aren’t

wasting any time and already

have lucrative new projects

in the works. The trio are

reportedly in talks with

Netflix and Amazon for a

multi-million-dollar deal to

front a new series, after they

started their own production

company GGM Pty Ltd earlier

this year. #

‘

The trio didn’t expect

them to call their bluff

• they were shocked

’

They vowed to stick

together, but to what end? The talented trio are

longtime friends and

have appeared together

on MasterChef Australia

for 11 seasons.

PICTURES: MEDIA MODE, SPLASH.

Woman’s Day 31