A MasterChef Australia judge looks set to be joining the next season of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!

Former judge and food critic Melissa Leong is tipped to be joining a host of celebrities in the jungle.

Leong, 42, who currently hosts Dessert Masters alongside Amaury Guichon, previously starred as a judge on MasterChef until her departure in 2023.

And the amount she is reportedly getting paid to appear on I’m A Celebrity looks to be eye-watering, according to an insider who spoke to Yahoo Lifestyle.

‘If Melissa could bag a quarter of a million dollars for the proposed 21 days, that isn’t something anyone should easily turn down,’ the source said.

They also mentioned that Channel 10 is unlikely to renew Dessert Masters but ‘don’t want to lose their relationship’ with Leong.

Executives may need to ‘play into Melissa’s fearless nature and unpredictable career choices’ to get her on I’m A Celebrity.

The insider also claimed the network will need to frame the offer with a ‘very clever pitch’ to entice Leong into the jungle.

A MasterChef Australia judge looks set to be joining the next season of I’m A Celebrity,.. Get Me Out of Here! Pictured: current MasterChef judges Sofia Levin, Andy Allen, Poh Ling Yeow, and Jean-Christophe Novelli

Former judge and food critic Melissa Leong is tipped to be joining a host of celebrities in the jungle. Pictured

It comes after Melissa was hit by rumours she could also be lining up a return to MasterChef Australia.

Melissa left MasterChef Australia last year under a cloud of suspicion about an alleged feud with her former co-host Andy Allen, who still serves as a judge.

‘Melissa told Ten that she’ll go back to MasterChef Australia when Andy Allen goes,’ a TV insider recently told Daily Mail Australia.

The amount Leong is reportedly getting paid to appear on I’m A Celebrity looks to be eye-watering, according to an insider who spoke to Yahoo Lifestyle. ‘If Melissa could bag a quarter of a million dollars for the proposed 21 days, that isn’t something anyone should easily turn down,’ the source said

‘I think the idea of returning to what the show once was for her seems a bit daunting and the only way Melissa would ever return is if the whole format was revamped.’

Melissa shocked fans when she shared news of her departure to Instagram one day before Network Ten’s 2024 Upfronts.

‘The changing of the guard is one I always planned to embrace, and I’m so glad to do that on my terms, today,’ she penned in a statement last October.

Melissa’s departure came after claims she had been axed following a string of publicised off-camera dramas.

She infamously had a blow up with the program’s hair and make-up team along with a substitute freelance hairstylist in 2022.

‘Andy has no beef with Leong,’ the source told Daily Mail Australia. ‘But he previously expressed his former colleague wasted a lot of time in hair and make-up.

‘He felt her control over what was filmed was compromised by her perfectionism.’

Andy returned to the show this year alongside three new judges – media darling Poh Ling Yeow, Michelin-star chef Jean-Christophe Novelli and Melbourne food critic Sofia Levin.