This season of MasterChef Australia boasts an incredible lineup of guest judges – from Aussie chefs like Curtis Stone to international royalty Meghan Markle – but there’s one famous Aussie face who’s about to become the highest-paid guest judge this season, set to out-earn even the Duchess of Sussex!
A source tells Woman’s Day Robert Irwin was offered a handsome pay packet for his guest appearance, proving that the 22-year-old Wildlife Warrior is currently one of the most bankable stars on Australian television.
After the sad cancellation of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! it’s understood Network 10 wanted to keep their hands on Robert as talent “at all costs”.
“They did a deal for him to do a MasterChef appearance to keep him at 10,” an industry insider explains..
The Dancing With The Stars winner is said to be walking away with anywhere between $50,000 – $75,000 for one day of filming the show. The deal comes after Robert was reportedly paid $3 million to host the 2026 season of I’m A Celebrity.
Robert’s strong fanbase, humble Aussie roots, and his publicity and promo value were cited as a huge reason as to why Channel 10 are desperate to keep him, with Channel Seven and Nine also circling the in-demand host.
Meghan Markle paid ‘much less’ for MasterChef appearance
Another guest judge Aussies are keeping an eye out for when it comes to this season of MasterChef Australia is Meghan Markle, with the Duchess of Sussex filming a special appearance for the show back in April during her four-day, privately funded tour of Australia with husband Prince Harry.
While many would assume Meghan would be paid the big bucks, our insider said Meghan’s fee was “much less” and likely a “charity donation so they [Meghan and Harry] didn’t look like they were personally profiting from the show”.
Despite media outlets originally reporting that Meghan would be paid $380,000 AUD to appear on the show, it was later confirmed that the Duchess wasn’t paid.
Later, industry rumours surfaced that Network 10 paid for Harry and Meghan’s airfares to Australia in lieu of an appearance fee, but sources close to production deny the claims.
Woman’s Day has reached out to Network 10 for comment.
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