Channel Ten has confirmed that MasterChef judge George Calombaris will return to the show when it airs for its tenth season next year.

The network has revealed that its trio of judges including Calombaris, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan have all signed-on again for 2018.

Calombaris’ participation was under a cloud and there had been media speculation he could be dumped from the stalwart cooking show.

The celebrity chef had made the headlines for a number of wrong reasons including grossly underpaying his restaurant staff to the tune of millions and then assaulting a spectator at the A-League grand final in May, an incident that is currently before the courts.

There had been reports in Woman’s Day that Ten bosses had tired of Calombaris’ negative publicity, however, a spokesperson for the network has quashed rumours of a possible axing.

“All of the MasterChef Australia judges including George Calombaris will return in 2018,” the Ten spokesperson told News’ The Daily Telegraph.

“With MasterChef Australia celebrating its 10th anniversary next year — a remarkable achievement for any television series — the cooking program that led a cultural phenomenon and changed the landscape of Australian television is ready for its biggest series yet.”