MasterChef Australia has bid farewell to the shows hit judging trio—Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris, who featured in the show for 11 seasons. On Tuesday, Network 10 announced it was dropping the trio, ahead of the show's finale.
The announcement comes as a shocker for the show's huge fan base, across countries. The decision, reportedly, comes after Network 10 that airs the show could not reach a 'commercial agreement that was satisfactory. In a statement, 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.”
The decision also comes in the wake of a recent controversy around George Calombaris where he was accused of underpaying the staff at his restaurants by more than $8 million.
