TV’s ugliest feud resurfaces as Melissa Leong feared publicity tour after alleged beef with former MasterChef co-star Andy Allen – and details of their fight are revealed

The second season of Channel 10’s highly rated MasterChef spin-off series Dessert Masters kicked off on Sunday, but host Melissa Leong’s publicity team was in crisis mode ahead of the premiere.

According to a well-placed insider, the celebrity chef, 42, was ‘afraid of speaking to the media’ amid claims of a feud with former MasterChef Australia co-star Andy Allen.

The source claims Leong is putting wheels in motion to return to MasterChef Australia – without Allen.

“Melissa told Ten she will return to MasterChef Australia when Andy Allen leaves,” a TV insider told Ny Breaking Australia.

“I think the idea of ​​returning to what the show once was to her seems a bit daunting, and the only way Melissa could ever return is if the entire format were revamped.”

Melissa left MasterChef Australia last year under a cloud of suspicion over an alleged feud with her former co-host Allen.

Following revelations of backstage tensions between Leong and crew members employed by Ten’s production partner Endemol Shine in 2022, news broke that she was no longer in the MasterChef Australia line-up.

Leong shocked fans when she shared the news of her departure on Instagram a day before the 2024 Upfronts.

“The changing of the guard is one I always intended to embrace, and I’m so happy that today I can do so on my terms,” Leong wrote last October.

Meanwhile, the affable Allen returned to the show this year alongside three new judges: media darling Poh Ling Yeow, Michelin-star chef Jean-Christophe Novelli and Melbourne food critic Sofia Levin.

Leong’s departure came after claims she was fired following a series of publicized off-camera dramas.

Leong infamously fell out with the show’s hair and makeup team in 2022, along with a replacement freelance hairstylist.

“Andy has no issues with Leong,” the source told Ny Breaking Australia. ‘But he previously said that his former colleague wasted a lot of time on hair and make-up.

‘He felt her control over what was being filmed was being compromised by her perfectionism.’

Channel 10 and Endemol Shine did not respond to any allegations when contacted by Ny Breaking Australia.

The insider also claimed that Leong jumped to Dessert Masters to prove her worth to network executives while she waited for the heat to die down.

In the first season of Dessert Masters, a group of Australian pastry chefs competed for a $100,000 prize and delivered ratings for the network in the highly competitive reality TV market.

The premiere episode was attended by 451,000 Australians across all major cities and viewers were full of praise for the TV veteran.

Ten confirmed MasterChef will host an All Stars season in 2025 that will see favorite contestants from years past appear ‘Back to Win’.

Gordon Ramsay, perhaps the world’s most iconic celebrity chef, has also signed on as a fifth judge.

The second season of Dessert Masters was a poor performer in comparison.

“People said it wasn’t compelling enough to greenlight the show again,” the insider continued.

‘Network Ten announced at the Upfronts that Masterchef Australia will be back next year and glossed over the fact that they had no plans to film the third season of Dessert Masters.’

What Leong will do next for the Ten Network is yet to be revealed.

The word inside Ten is that Dessert Masters will return in 2025, but the network has bought itself some time by delaying a formal announcement until after the second season has aired.

“Last year there was a lot of interest in the debut of Dessert Masters,” a Ten spokeswoman told Ny Breaking Australia.

‘In 2024 we are happy that we can deliver a second portion.’

Leong was a respected food critic and journalist before being elevated to a household name on MasterChef Australian alongside Allen and the late Jock Zonfrillo.

She attended Zonfrillo’s funeral in May 2023 with an entourage, but unlike Allen was not given a prominent role in the ceremony.

Zonfrillo’s widow Lauren Fried fueled rumors of a feud between the trio of MasterChef Australia judges by sharing her thoughts on the new judges on Instagram.

In a lengthy social media post, she wrote that her late husband would be “very happy” with the lineup without Leong.

‘This would make Jock very happy – @andyallencooks came into our lives unexpectedly four years ago. He quickly became Jock’s best friend, shared a passion for food and fun, and was someone who cared deeply about our family,” she wrote at the time.

“This is a group of people who respect the privilege of being part of such an extraordinary show, they know they are stronger together than individually, and they want to encourage participants to make their food dreams come true.”

When pressed about friction on the MasterChef Australia set ahead of her surprise tree change in 2023, Leong said: “I have nothing but love and respect for not only Andy, but everyone I’ve worked with.”

“We’re a team, we’re a family, and that’s all you really need to know.”