EXCLUSIVE: The sweet reason Offspring star Matthew Le Nevez went on Celebrity MasterChef Australia

Offspring fans are still traumatised by the death of Patrick in 2013. But the man himself, Matt Le Nevez, is sounding pretty cheerful when TV WEEK calls him at his home in Los Angeles.

“It’s just a nice Sunday afternoon, with the kids, swimming, and things are good, really good,” he says.

Matt’s kids, seven-year-old Levi and four-year-old Wren, are the reason he returned to Australia to film Celebrity MasterChef.

“I want to inspire my children to be better cooks and have more of a brave and courageous view of food,” he says.

“I grew up with a pretty narrow palate. I didn’t want my kids to have that.”

Matt, whose wife Michelle Smith works in the medical field, says he’s the cook in the house.

The family’s favourite meals include barbecues, pasta and the chicken cacciatore that Matt learnt from his mum and dad.

“Then Michelle and the kids like this fish that I cook – it’s like a bit of a blackened fish taco,” he adds.

To Matt’s disappointment, Levi and Wren don’t like Vegemite.

“I failed on that one,” he laughs. “[But] I’m always calling it tomato sauce and not ketchup.

“Reminding the kids that they’re half-Australian every minute of every day is part of the job.”

Matt, 42, has had some big TV roles since leaving Australia, including Absentia, with Stana Katic. But COVID last year “shifted everything.”

“Absentia was going again, and then it wasn’t,” he explains.

“Suddenly all the schools were shut, so we needed someone in the house to help do Zoom school, so I was doing that.

“I’m hoping new opportunities for work open up again, but really, I’m just a dad who’s auditioning for jobs and trying to be a better cook at the moment.”

The big question is, if Offspring came back, would Matt be prepared to return as the ghost of Patrick?

“After Patrick died, I saw the effect of it,” he says.

“I was always like, ‘We need more ghost!’ They’re such a good group of people to play with.

“If you told me that I could get back on set and play, 100 per cent I’d be there. I’d do it for nothing.”