A judge on the Australian version of TV show MasterChef has apologised after a probe found he had underpaid hundreds of restaurant staff by nearly AU$8 million (£4.5 million) over six years.
George Calombaris has been fined AU$200,000 (£113,000) and promised to repay 515 employees at his Made Establishment company.
In a statement he said: “We apologise to all our affected team members.” The underpayments came to light after an investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Mr Calombaris is now facing calls to be axed from MasterChef.
Jo-Anne Schofield, national secretary of Australia’s hospitality union United Voice, criticised the “contrition payment” as too small.
