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MasterChef judges (l-r)  George Calombaris, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan at an event in...
MasterChef judges (l-r) George Calombaris, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan at an event in Melbourne last year. Photo: Getty
Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and the embattled George Calombaris will leave MasterChef as judges after contractual negotiations with the reality cooking television show's broadcaster broke down.

The trio, who have been judges on the show for 11 seasons, will make their last appearance on Tuesday night (in Australia) in the 2019 season finale.

"Despite months of negotiation, 10 has not been able to reach a commercial agreement that was satisfactory to Matt, Gary and George," Network Ten chief executive Paul Anderson said in a statement on Tuesday.

"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."

The announcement comes amid calls for Ten to sack Calombaris after his Made Establishment company was last week fined $200,000 for ripping off restaurant workers to the tune of almost $8 million.

He was also dumped on Monday from a West Australian tourism campaign.

MasterChef on Tuesday thanked the celebrity judges for their time on the show.

"After 11 sensational seasons, we bid a fond farewell to our judges - Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris," the show's Twitter account posted.

"Thank you for being a part of this remarkable #MasterChefAU legacy and helping make the culinary dreams of everyday home cooks come true!"

Comments

Good job, they were getting too long in the tooth.