A safe pair of hands? I'll be as safe as houses!

New MasterChef: The Professionals judge Matt Tebbutt on stepping into Gregg Wallace's dismissed shoes, how to shuck an oyster and the royal he would most love to cook for...

- By Alison James

TAKING on a top telly job is not always a bowl of cherries. And when the previous incumbent left under the murky cloud of alleged misconduct, one might say it’s something of a poisoned chalice. The new talent must be squeaky-clean yet skilled enough to make the viewers — and everyone else involved in the show, for that matter — instantly forget about their predecessor.

It’s tricky...but if anyone can do it, Saturday Kitchen’s Matt Tebbutt can.

“Stepping into someone’s TV shoes is a difficult position to be in,” admits Matt, while being careful not to mention Gregg Wallace by name after the TV greengocer’s sacking from MasterChef in July.

“But I did it before — under totally different circumstances, of course — when James Martin left Saturday Kitchen. I’ll just try and make my own mark without making too many waves. I'll be as safe as houses on MasterChef: The Professionals!’

The odds are he'll also be a rip-roaring success. Matt’s one of the nicest people on the box — easygoing, laid-back and funny. A natural presenter who absolutely knows his (food) stuff. But what will this classically trained chef, who built a celebrated restaurant business before pivoting to a successful television career, be like as a judge appraising the work of fellow culinary professionals? After all, his show colleagues Marcus Wareing and Monica Galetti are known to be very critical on occasion.

“It’s fair to say the ‘Good Cop’ would apply here,” laughs Matt. “My two grownup kids, for instance, call me ‘GI Dad’ but the ‘GI’ refers to ‘give in’ rather than the GI Joe reference that I'd hoped they meant. Seriously, though, I think I'll be pretty fair but will expect high standards — after all some of these contestants are at the top of their game.”