For years, George Calombaris, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan have entered the homes of Australians, making us feel insecure about the lack of texture on our dinner plates and slowly convincing us about the importance of owning a Sous Vide machine or a blast chiller.
Scandal erupted when news broke merely hours before the season finale that the trio would not be hosting season 12 due to pay disputes with Network Ten.
Currently each on million-dollar-a-year contracts, the group reportedly walked away for the prestigious judging positions after their demands for a 40 per cent pay rise were not met.
This was not the only scandal to hit the show in recent times, after it was also discovered by the Fair Work Ombudsmen that George had underpaid more than 500 staff, totalling more than $7.8 million.
It’s pretty ironic to think George is chucking a tantrum considering his own issues in relation to staff wages, but this is also a man who complained about having to pay weekend penalty rates.
It also begs the question, when is enough, enough?
I think any of us would be delighted to be shipped around the country tasting food for a living and earning $1 million in the process, not to mention the amount of endorsement deals that are bound to come your way in the process.
Gary and Matt recently took to social media saying a decision could not be reached between all parties for a contract, however George’s excuse was a lack of time and an inability to meet the time commitments required.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen George struggle with commitment issues either.
The last few weeks we’ve seen that man swap countless pairs of glasses, offering no explanation as to why.
Lovingly known as ‘The Boyz’ at our place, we all gathered to watch them for the last time, a tear almost rolling down the cheek of one of my housemates as he recounted his love of the show throughout the years.
The other housemate strongly suggesting we invest in some of the fancy gadgets used on the show.
So could we have Top Gear 2.0 on our hands?
After 17 years in the host position, Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond announced their departure in 2015 after Mr Clarkson was sacked due to an investigation into misconduct against a member of the car show’s production staff.
The trio took their skills with them and launched The Grand Tour, which ran for three seasons and finished up at the end of 2018.
Top Gear floundered in ratings after their departure and suffered from a number of host changes.
Already struggling with disappointing ratings, could a change in hosts be the final straw for this Australian television icon and could we see the rise of Gary, Matt and George’s spin-off show?
One of my housemates suggested Chef Masters, which I’m sure we’ll see pop up on Channel 9 or 7 in the next year or so.
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