As Channel Seven gears up for the premiere of My Kitchen Rules, fans have been disappointed to learn that Nigella Lawson will “only appear in half of the episodes.”
Watch Below: First look at My Kitchen Rules 2022
The once-juggernaut show returns on Sunday, August 7 for the first time in two years, and trailers have prominently featured Nigella Lawson and (to a lesser extent) Manu Feildel as judges.
However, The Australian has now reported that Nigella “will appear only for the first round of the show.”
The news comes a week before the show premieres, with the report also revealing that Chef Matt Preston will replace her as a judge during the second round.
Colin Fassnidge and Curtis Stone will also reportedly step in for the show’s finals.
The news comes as a surprise to fans after Nigella’s role in the show was heavily promoted, with the British chef herself opening up about the opportunity earlier this year.
In a statement, Nigella shared her excitement for this season of My Kitchen Rules, adding that she is “so looking forward” to working alongside Manu as co-host for the series.
“Although he’s a chef and I’m a home cook, the fact is we both just want to eat good food.”
“I feel I’ve got a lot to learn from him, but just know we’ll have a lot of fun in the process. I can’t wait!”
Fans were not impressed with the news that Nigella will not be in the whole season, with one asking why they “don’t see any of that in the on air-promos!”
Nigella replaced disgraced Pete Evans who was previously a judge on My Kitchen Rules.
The chef, who had starred on the show for eleven years, was axed from the Seven Network in 2020 amid falling ratings and a string of personal controversies.
The chef copped extreme public backlash for his controversial views after he used social media to share misinformation about the COVID pandemic and cast doubts on vaccines and other mainstream science.
In April 2020, Pete was fined $25,000 by the TGA for promoting a $15,000 lamp he claimed could treat COVID.
Subsequently, Pete and Channel Seven mutually agreed to part ways – and MKR effectively went on a two-year hiatus.
All the contestants for the new season of My Kitchen Rules have been announced. Read all about it here.
