MasterChef judges Melissa Leong, Jock Zonfrillo, and Andy Allen ‘want pay rise’

MasterChef Australia has has been a ratings hit for Channel Ten since its premiere – and now a new report claims the judges want a pay rise as a result. 

Woman’s Day reported on Monday that judges Melissa Leong, 38, Jock Zonfrillo, 43, and Andy Allen, 32, are looking at renegotiating their contracts in the wake of the show’s success. 

‘They are in absolute and complete control of negotiations, and they can be – look what they’ve managed to do!’ an alleged source told the magazine. 

The trio are reportedly receiving around $500,000 a year, but hope to get more, the source continued. 

‘Breathing life into a show that most people assumed had run its course is no easy feat and they’ll be able to push for bigger salaries and benefits going forward,’ the source is alleged to have said.  

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Channel Ten for comment. 

Earlier this month, MasterChef drew in a total of 1,135,000 viewers, with 877,000 across the five city metro and 258,000 in regional areas.

However the network’s game show Have You Been Paying Attention? toppled its stablemate and drew in a whopping 1,242,000 viewers for the same period.  

Asking for a pay rise can be dangerous territory however, as the show’s history has shown.  

Gary Mehigan, Matt Preston and George Calombaris wrapped up their judging and hosting duties on MasterChef Australia last year. 

Reports have claimed the trio chose to walk away from the program after Ten refused to give them a significant pay boost.

In a statement, Ten’s CEO Paul Anderson claimed the decision followed months of failed talks with the chefs. 

Mr Anderson said: ‘Despite months of negotiations, Ten has not been able to reach a commercial agreement that was satisfactory to Matt, Gary and George. We would like to thank Gary, George and Matt for their contribution over the past 11 years’.