New MasterChef star makes gutting admission about his BBC cooking show
Change is in the air.
Saturday Kitchen star Matt Tebbutt has admitted that his tenure on the BBC morning show will come to an end eventually.
The celebrity chef, 51, is reportedly in advanced talks to replace Gregg Wallace, 60, on Masterchef after the former host exited the hit reality series following a series of misconduct allegations.
Tebbutt has been a familiar face on morning TV since 2016 when he took over BBC series Saturday Kitchen from James Martin and has been whipping up new meals with a serving of celebrity chatter ever since.
But in a sad admission about his future on the show, he told Grilled by The Staff Canteen podcast: ‘It’s going to stop at some point. I’m going to have to do something.’
And even contemplated the idea of returning to the restaurant business. Never say never. Maybe that’s the time to do it,’ he said.
Then added: ‘Every now and again I have to stop myself because you have to remember how hard that job is. It can be hugely rewarding, but it’s a proper hard graft.’
The celebrity chef has various plans in the works for the future including YouTube, restuarants and Masterchef (Picture: John Lawrence/Rex)This is not the first time he’s spoken about potential plans outside of Saturday Kitchen as the TV landscape changes.
In December, he told Birmingham Live that he was hoping to kickstart his YouTube career.
He said: I’m looking into the world of YouTube currently, because everyone is jumping on that one and it seems to work. I think that’s how people are watching TV these days.
‘It drives more customers, it drives more views and they’re hugely successful with it. So I’ll be looking in to that.’
The TV star also shared that Saturday Kitchen viewership ‘absolutely is’ becoming a challenge as the ‘new generation’ switch from linear TV to ‘phones or their computers’.
Tebbutt continued: ‘They can type in whatever they want and watch it whenever they want it. So, yeah, there’s a big change going on in TV land currently.
‘All the broadcasters are sort of needing to catch up with how people view things so yeah it’s going to be very different over the next few years.’
But worry not.
Tebbutt has previously reflected on Saturday Kitchen’s changing viewership (Picture: BBC)If the Masterchef talks pull through, he won’t be missing from screens for long after joining John Torode for a new season of the cooking competition.
His rumoured appointment has come as a surprise for many who assumed the new Celebrity Masterchef co-host, Grace Dent, would also take over tenure of the regular series position.
Discussing how he was a perfect fit for the role, however, a source told The Sun: ‘Matt rose to the challenge of coming into Saturday Kitchen after it was previously hosted by another big name in the world of food, James Martin.
‘He managed the feat of making it his own and almost making viewers forget who his predecessor was – now Beeb bosses, and the show producers Banijay, will be hoping he can work the same magic on MasterChef.’
Grace Dent is the current replacement for Gregg on Celebrity Masterchef (Picture: BBC/PA Wire)Although the insider cautioned that ‘nothing is set in stone yet’ as the investigation about the accusations against Wallace continues.
The BBC’s appointment of Dent proved successful and the broadcaster herself reflected on what the new role meant to her.
She said at the time: I’ve been watching MasterChef since I was a girl sitting with my dad on the sofa. My whole family watches it. It’s all about uncovering and championing talent – and to have ended up in this position, is more than a dream to me.
‘I’m so excited that I can’t eat, which is severely detrimental to a restaurant critic. I feel very lucky to be stepping in for the next Celebrity MasterChef. I can’t wait to meet the fresh celebrity faces for 2025.’
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