MasterChef’s Melissa Leong says she ‘feels very fortunate fans resonated positively’ to the revamped season of the show
She appeared as a new judge on MasterChef Australia alongside Andy Allen and Jock Zonfrillo this year.
And on Saturday, fan favourite Melissa Leong said she feels ‘very fortunate’ viewers of the show resonated positively to the revamped season.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, the chef, 38, said: ‘We feel very fortunate and continue every day to thank our lucky stars the audience resonated so positively with it.’
‘We continue every day to thank our lucky stars’: MasterChef’s Melissa Leong (pictured) said she ‘feels very fortunate fans resonated positively’ to the revamped season of the show
‘In many ways MasterChef Australia belongs to its audience, the audience has been with this show for over a decade, they have loved every moment of it, they have shouted it from the rooftops, they’ve applied to compete and won,’ she added.
Melissa is also set to appear on Junior MasterChef alongside her co-judges Andy and Jock, and said she’s ‘very excited to meet the talented kids’.
‘We were all just so excited and enthusiastic for the idea of it but then in practice, meeting these super-talented little juniors and observing their excitement for life and new discovery and for everything the show entails, it was such a beacon of light for us three,’ she said.
She said: ‘We feel very fortunate and continue every day to thank our lucky stars the audience resonated so positively with it’
Melissa and co-stars Andy Allen and Jock Zonfrillo replaced veteran judges George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston on MasterChef in April.
The former trio had previously hosted MasterChef for 11 years before being dumped by Channel 10 in July 2019 after reports of a pay dispute.
Last month, Melissa told The Weekend Australian she’s ‘very humbled’ by the show’s success.
New roles: Melissa and co-stars Andy Allen and Jock Zonfrillo replaced veteran judges George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston on MasterChef in April
According to the publication, the average live-to-air and catch-up audience was 1,105,000 viewers – representing a 45 per cent increase to last year.
The food writer and TV personality of Singaporean heritage said: ‘Ratings aren’t really within our control… (but) it’s a wonderful thing to feel that it has resonated with the viewers in Australia and overseas.’
Melissa also recently hinted she would be returning for the thirteenth season of the show, after this year’s season was a surprise ratings smash.
‘I’m very open-minded to the possibility of doing MasterChef season 13,’ she told Who magazine, but didn’t confirm her spot on the next season.
Incoming: Melissa has hinted she would be returning for the thirteenth season of MasterChef, after this year’s season was a surprise ratings smash. Pictured with her fellow judges