Channel 7
Colin Fassnidge has been caught in a bizarre onscreen war as three MKR contestants battle for the judge’s attention – but for very different reasons!
While 61-year-old Valerie’s tongue-in-cheek flirting with the Irish chef leaves daughter Courtney ‘so, so embarrassed’, Wollongong mums Mell and Cyn admit that Colin got them fired up – and not in a good way.
The tough-talking corporate high-flyers tell New Idea they had fiery, nonstop arguments with Colin because he reminded them so much of their spouses!
‘Colin, Mell and I had many confrontations… many,’ Cyn laughs. ‘It started the very first time we met him. We sat down at the first instant restaurant and it was just on for young and old. And it progressively got stronger – Colin got more adamant in his opinions against us and we just didn’t back down.
‘Colin is quite an antagonistic person. And the thing is, my husband Nick – who Mell also works for, and obviously I’m married to – is exactly like him. So Colin would be saying the smart-arse comments and we would feel the need to say something or put him in his place.
‘Or he’d be antagonistic for no other purpose than to just annoy people, so we’d have to set him straight. We just couldn’t help but bite. Every time Colin would throw a fish in our pond, we would have to take the bait!’
Colin admits that the tension between Mell, Cyn and himself escalated throughout the show, but says he loved going toe-to- toe with the feisty mums.
‘Mell and Cyn were very fiery! Things got a little bit heated,’ the 43-year-old judge says.
‘They gave me a run for my money. Mell fought back – she tries her best not to fight back, but she can’t help it, she really can’t help it.
‘Some of the arguments were over critiques, and then one time she said I was like her husband and I made a joke about that.
‘I was being tongue-in-cheek, but she didn’t like that. But you know, you bite me and I’ll bite you back!
‘However, I actually really like people who are strong characters. I hate the wishy-washy ones.’
Despite the fiery showdowns, the trio have a mutual respect for one another.
‘It’s not personal,’ Mell says ‘Colin’s a very genuine man, a top bloke. I think he’s very honest, and I like honest people.’
But while Mell and Cyn will keep Colin occupied for much of the Group Three instant restaurant round with their showdowns, it’s Valerie who does her best to catch his attention – for a very different reason.
The happily married Brisbane mum admits she has a big crush on both Colin and new judge Darren Robertson (pictured below) – ‘I like their accents!’ – and says her flirtations left daughter Courtney red-faced.
‘She’d be like: “Oh Mum!” and would be so embarrassed,’ Valerie laughs. ‘But Colin’s a rascal. I love him. He’s a very smooth talker.’
For the full story, see this week’s New Idea – out now.
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