RTE has chopped Celebrity MasterChef because of a lack of funding, it has emerged.
The TV cooking series – which was won by David Gillick in its first series, and also starred Aengus Mac Grianna and Yvonne Keating – won’t be returning over the summer.
And the normal version of MasterChef Ireland, fronted by Nick Munier and Dylan McGrath, won’t come back unless a sponsor can be found.
Sources told the Irish Sun that there is hope to be able to return, but funding issues in the Irish TV industry make it tough.
Previous contestant: Yvonne Keating | RTE
“RTE simply don’t have the money to produce Celebrity Masterchef Ireland this summer,” an insider said.
“The budget isn’t there due to the double whammy of a drop in revenue and licence fee.
“The Irish TV industry is struggling at the moment and with budget cuts, more shows are going to disappear from screens unless additional money can be found for programming.”
Previously, RTE was forced to cull kitchen-based drama Raw, which starred Charlene McKenna, in order to have money to fund Love/Hate.
