Matt Preston reveals what Nigella Lawson is REALLY like on My Kitchen Rules
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Matt Preston has an unlikely opinion on his fellow My Kitchen Rules co-star Nigella Lawson.
Speaking on Tuesday morning’s Fitzy & Wippa, the food critic weighed in on what the 62-year-old British celebrity cook is really like behind the scenes of the Channel Seven reality show.
‘Nigella is like that younger sister you love but is a little bit annoying at times, she likes a little pop at you. Which is why I love working with her,’ Matt, 60, revealed. ‘She’s mischievous.’
Matt Preston has an unlikely opinion on his fellow My Kitchen Rules co-star Nigella Lawson
‘You think she’s going to be a bit anodyne, a bit bland, and then she’s actually, you know, spirited and fiery and all the stuff,’ he added.
‘That side of Nigella is brilliant to work with.’
Wippa, who mentioned the radio team had recently spoken to Nigella, poked fun at the possibility that the cookbook author might be ‘flirting’ with the co-star.
‘She made it very clear to us – and I thought that you might be under threat, your relationship and marriage – because she came out and said she loves a hairy man,’ he said. ‘Is she flirting with you?’
‘No, no, no highly unlikely,’ Matt replied.
Matt is happily married to wife Emma Preston and they share three children together.
Monday night marked Nigella’s final episode of My Kitchen Rules, stepping aside for Matt Preston to co-host alongside Manu for the remainder of the season.
She replaced controversial judge Pete Evans for the first part of the series and fans have said her appointment is a ‘massive upgrade.’
MKR fans have said Nigella is ‘certainly a massive upgrade on the previous judge’
The British food writer joined Manu Feildel as a judge for the first time during the premiere of the reboot on Sunday, August 7 and she was incredibly well-received.
One fan called her ‘the vital ingredient this show has been missing.’
Other fans wrote: ‘Not only is she a bona fide food-lover & relatable to all us home cooks but it’s her personable nature, positive energy, insightfulness & unique way with words that makes her so endearing.’
‘Nigella is certainly a massive upgrade on the previous judge!’
‘She is the vital ingredient this show has been missing’: Nigella Lawson replaced controversial judge Pete Evans on My Kitchen Rules
Nigella has previously spoken about her excitement about starring on the series.
‘When you think about the food you love, it’s nearly always home cooking,’ she said.
‘I’m a home cook and it’s the food that I want to eat. I’ve come 17,000 kilometres to find Australia’s best home cooks.’
Other fans predict that Nigella’s appearance on the struggling TV show will help bring it back on its feet.
Nigella has previously spoken about her excitement about starring on the series: ‘When you think about the food you love, it’s nearly always home cooking’
‘Nigella will single-handedly save this show,’ a viewer tweeted, while another added, ‘I’m giving #MKR another chance-I hope the love really is back. Also, Nigella.’
Just days before the new season’s premiere, Manu revealed he is still good friends with controversial chef Pete.
‘We still chat once a month and every now and then,’ he told The Daily Telegraph last Thursday.
‘Look things have changed for everyone. Pete is happy with his life and there’s no awkwardness there.’
Nigella (centre) has previously spoken about her excitement about starring on the series, saying, ‘I’m a home cook and it’s the food that I want to eat. I’ve come 17,000 kilometres to find Australia’s best home cooks.’
Manu and Pete co-hosted My Kitchen Rules for a decade before Pete was sacked from his $800,000 contract in May 2020.
The pair were often the subject of rumours they didn’t like each other, with a source revealing in 2017 that Manu thought Pete was ‘stranger than strange’.
Pete previously claimed COVID-19 was a ‘f**king hoax’ and that the pandemic ‘doesn’t compare to what is happening in the world on a large scale’.
Among his false claims about the pandemic, Pete previously declared he’s immune to coronavirus, and blamed the health crisis on 5G technology.
Before: Manu and Pete co-hosted My Kitchen Rules for a decade before Evans, (right), was sacked from his $800,000 contract in May 2020
Shock: Pete (pictured) previously claimed COVID-19 was a ‘f**king hoax’ and that the pandemic ‘doesn’t compare to what is happening in the world on a large scale’
He also endorsed fellow conspiracy theorist David Icke, a Holocaust denier who was denied entry to Australia after protests from the Jewish community.
Pete was dropped by 15 sponsors and companies in the space of 48 hours in November 2020.
MKR had once been a ratings juggernaut for Seven, but its popularity nosedived in recent years as viewers flocked to Channel Nine’s Married At First Sight instead.
In April, it was announced that home-cooking sensation Nigella would replace Pete as a judge on a revamped new season.
My Kitchen Rules continues Tuesday and Wednesday at 7.30pm on Channel Seven