Junior Masterchef

The X Factor will premiere on Seven at 7.30pm, Monday August 30. It’s first episode will be 90 minutes, and will continue at 7.30pm on the following three nights with audition episodes.

As a result, RSPCA Animal Rescue and Under the Hammer will both have season finales on Monday August 23 and The Matty Johns show for Sydney and Brisbane will move to 8.30pm for that week only. Minute to Win it was already finishing on Tuesday Aug 24, while World’s Strictest Parents will have a week off.

The 90 minute premiere of X Factor on Monday August 30 means that Criminal Minds and Covert Affairs will be pushed back half an hour, starting at 9pm and 10pm respectively. The X Factor on Tuesday Aug 31, Wednesday Spet 1 and Thursday Sept 2 will each be 60 minute episodes, finishing around 8.30pm.

Dancing with the Stars has its grand final on Sunday August 29 over two and a half hours from 7.30pm. The following week could see The X Factor slot into a Sunday night timeslot as well.

The X Factor will also be encored on 7TWO the following day. Tuesday Aug 31 at 3pm, then 3.30pm on Wed, Thur and Fri Sept 1,2 and 3.

Regular programming for the X Factor is most likely to be at least Monday and Tuesday nights at 7.30, with the possibility of a Sunday night show as well. All that is to be confirmed for the week starting September 5 – which could also be the week that Ten launches Junior Masterchef.

Junior master chef could be on Ten sooner, rather than later with Ten chief programmer David Mott saying the earlier time is to take advantage of all the sizzle from the finale of Masterchef.

“We were completely blown away by the response to the sizzle I put in the finale, everyone’s been raving about it,” he said.

“We’re absolutely delighted by the kids and it’s one that’s going to surprise. They are going to show the adults up – even the ones on the original series.”

Promos for Junior Masterchef show children between the ages of 8 and 12 working at their stations in the Masterchef kitchen dishing up recipes that would outdo most adults. The show is said to be family friendly and all about positive reinforcement with no eliminations as such.

Junior Masterchef was to air after the Commonwealth Games that run from October 3-14 this year. The move to bring the show forward could see it premiere in September, and will most likely play out in two episodes per week.

With episodes Rules of Engagement due to run out on September 5 (based on airing twice a week as they do now), leaving Modern Family with two more episodes to play without the Rules follow on it has had since Masterchef finished, timeslots on both Sunday nights and Tuesday nights will soon open up.

Tuesday September 7 is a possible launch date for Junior Masterchef with the final two episodes of Modern Family played out on Sunday September 12. Alternatively – they could play the finale two Modern Families on Tuesday September 7 and start Junior Masterchef on Sundays and Tuesdays from September 12.

Then again, they could also use Wednesday nights, replacing the Simpsons even though that would leave new episodes unaired.

Source in part: Daily Telegraph

Network Ten and Shine Australia are pleased to announce one of Australia’s most popular female cooks, Anna Gare, is joining Junior MasterChef as a judge/mentor. Anna joins iconic MasterChef Australia judges, George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston on the new series that will showcase the outstanding cooking abilities of our country’s best young amateur cooks.

A successful cook, television host, business woman and mother of four, Anna Gare is best known for her role on the popular cooking series The Best of Australia and more recently Quickies in My Kitchen on LifeStyle Food Channel. She also managed one of Perth’s most successful and innovative catering companies Deluxe Catering with Food by Anna Gare, and has worked in key roles in a variety of respected restaurants across the country.

Anna says of her new venture, “I’m thrilled and excited to be going onto such a hugely popular program. I’ve seen some of the junior kitchen superstars in action and there is some really amazing talent there! I can’t wait to get started.”

Network Ten’s Chief Programming Officer David Mott says, “Anna is a natural fit for Junior MasterChef. She is warm, engaging and has a wealth of experience as a cook, television presenter and mother. We are delighted to have her on board.”

Over 5,000 children from around the country applied to be a part of this inspiring new series. National auditions were held for contestants aged 8 -12yrs, with 50 of Australia’s most talented young cooks selected to take part in the series.

Over the course of the series, the junior super cooks will battle it out in the MasterChef Kitchen, facing challenges ranging from the technical to the spectacular, and astounding Australia with their amazing skills.

They will be inspired and guided by some of the country’s top chefs, and challenged to be the best they can be – proving to Australia that when it comes to cooking, age does not matter.

MasterChef remains one of Network Ten’s most successful programs franchises. Last year’s finale was the most watched show of the year peaking at 4.1 million viewers, and the current season is averaging 1.8 million viewers every night.

Junior MasterChef is a Shine Australia production for Network Ten.

2010 could be the last year that the Biggest Loser is seen on Channel Ten with the network’s rights for the show expiring at the end of the year. Both Seven and Nine have expressed interest in the show and will be launching bids against Ten to pick up the rights for the weight loss reality competition show from 2011.

Elisabeth Murdoch’s Shine Group will make all future editions of the Biggest Loser. CEO of the Shine Group Mark Fennessy has confirmed that all three commercial networks are interested in screening the Biggest Loser from 2011. A new contract could most likely span a number of years and be a multi million dollar deal.

The latest series of the Biggest Loser – which airs on Ten from 6.30pm this Sunday Jan 31, then weekdays 7.30 thereafter was rocked by scandal with one of the contestants found to be possessing child pornography earlier this week. Ten have had to re-edit the show to remove the concerned contestant, leaving just nine couples instead of the original 10.

The Shine Group will also be producing a new quiz show to be screened nightly on SBS based on the overseas letters and numbers format. 100 episodes have been commissioned.

Shine has also announced that they will make at least 10 episodes of Junior Masterchef for Ten later in 2010. Contestants for the junior version of Masterchef will al be between the ages of 8 and 12.

Source: Daily Telegraph