“My surgeon eventually said we couldn’t wait any longer.”

When Rhiannon returned to the MasterChef Australia: Back to Win kitchen, she was battling through a secret health crisis.

“I had a fibroid the size of a melon taken out just before filming,” Rhiannon, 48, tells TV WEEK. “I was still recovering when I came back. I discovered it on my first season of MasterChef [season 15, filmed in 2022].
Rhiannon poses in her MasterChef Australia apron, hand on hip, smiling.Rhiannon went through a major health scare recently. (Credit: 10)
“I kept putting off looking into it because I wanted to continue on the series, but my surgeon eventually said we couldn’t wait any longer, as it had a high chance of turning cancerous.”

It was a real scare for the mother of five and grandmother of six, who has health problems running in her family.

“I’ve lost my mum and aunties to cancer,” Rhiannon says. “But they all loved to cook, and I have the most vivid memories of them in the kitchen laughing hysterically. My mum was a chef and would work nights, so that left me to cook dinner for my other siblings – which I loved.”

So has the cooking legacy that runs in her blood created a new generation of cooks with her own kids? Rhiannon says her love of cooking has in fact had the opposite effect.
(Credit: Instagram)
“They’ve kicked back and just enjoyed my cooking,” the proud Queenslander says with a laugh. “I love to show my love through food, so I just feed them. But I’m going on the road in November with my daughter and husband, traveling around Australia and filming it, and part of the YouTube channel is going to be me teaching my 24-year-old how to cook.

“Better late than never!

Meanwhile, loveable Aussie larrikin Declan is back to win, but the fight to the top is made more difficult by the fact he must compete against his MasterChef bestie, Rhiannon, for the trophy.

“We clicked straightaway back in season 15 and our connection has only grown stronger over the last two years,” Declan, 27, tells TV WEEK. “Coming into the Back to Win series is a bit overwhelming for the both of us but having her by my side certainly made all the difference.”

Since his time in the MasterChef Australia kitchen, the pair have visited each other’s homes, spending time cooking and enjoying a “cheeky Chandon or two”, but that isn’t all
(Credit: Instagram)
Declan has been up to. He scored a new job at acclaimed seafood chef Josh Niland’s Fish Butchery – a “dream come true” for the seafood-obsessed youngster.

“I work there for free one day a week, and even though I’m doing an eight-hour shift, it feels like my day off because I’m doing what I love,” Declan gushes.

Despite all the new skills Declan has learned at his new gig, he is worried being the competition’s youngest contestant could hinder his chances of winning.

“It’s intimidating going up against a lot of these people who have been established in the food scene for 10-plus years,” he reveals. “A lot of them have their own restaurants – that’s where the nerves stem from.”

Will Declan be able to overcome his fears and step up to the plate and win?