Former MasterChef judge Matt Preston has made a candid confession about his diva behaviour on the set of his first reality show My Restaurant Rules, even going as far as to call himself a “di**head.”
The now 61-year-old made the comments to Stellar Magazine, and also confessed that he “didn’t cope well with fame” in the early days of his on-screen career.
WATCH NOW: Matt Preston forced to quit Dancing with the Stars. Article continues after video.
“I had done a show for [Channel] Seven called Restaurant Rules [in 2004],” Matt began.
“I had the thing of going from hardworking writer and then suddenly you fly to the country and the guys scanning the bags know you and the passport control guy knows you.”
“I don’t think I dealt with it very well. I became a bit of a di**head, but it was very, very instructive.”
The recent Dancing with the Stars eliminee then went on to explain how his pre-existing friendship with fellow former MasterChef judges George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan helped to whip his attitude into shape.
“With MasterChef, two things happened.”
“One, I knew the other two judges really well, so there was nowhere to hide. If you acted like a di**head, the other two would tell you you’re acting like a di**head.”
“That kept all three of us honest.”
After shooting to the top of the most watched reality programs in Australian history list (a position it holds to this day), Matt says his life completely changed.
“Suddenly it’s the number one show in the history of reality television. And then next year it eclipses that. When something like that happens, in your immediate world nothing changes,” Matt told Stellar.
“Your friends, the people who know you, that doesn’t change. But the whole world moves a metre to the right. So others you don’t know treat you differently.”
“But that’s why core friends and family are so important because they go, ‘Yeah, we remember when you tried dye mashed potatoes blue. It was disgusting,'” he joked.
After failing to negotiate a higher payrise for their cushy judging gigs on MasterChef following the 2019 season, Matt (alongside George and Gary) was unceremoniously dumped by Channel 10 and replaced with Jock Zonfrillo, Andy Allen, and Melissa Leong, who have judged MasterChef ever since.
Jock passed away in May of this year, it is unclear who will fill his shoes for the 2024 season of MasterChef.
