Tebbutt, who is best known for hosting Saturday Kitchen on BBC One and cooked under both Marco Pierre White and Alastair Little earlier in his career, will present the cookery competition’s upcoming 18th series alongside fellow judges Marcus Wareing and Monica Galetti.
“It’s an absolute honour to be working alongside these two titans of the food world,” says Tebbutt.
“Their knowledge and uncompromising attitude are now the stuff of legend, and I look forward to them taking me under their wing and seeing the chefs get off to a flying start in the competition.”
Tebbutt’s appointment comes after Wallace was sacked from MasterChef after an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour by judge and presenter substantiated 45 claims that included use of sexual language and one of unwanted physical contact.
Wallace’s co-judge and presenter John Torode was subsequently also fired after an allegation of him using racist language was substantiated as part of the investigation.
The transmission date for the new series of MasterChef: The Professionals will be confirmed in due course.
Tebbutt, Wareing and Galetti will also be joined by a variety of guest judges in the initial skills test stage of the competition.
“It’s a great pleasure to welcome Matt on board for the next series of MasterChef: The Professionals, says David Ambler, MasterChef executive editor.
“His career as a chef, restaurateur and food broadcaster makes him an ideal choice to join this year’s judging line-up and we can’t wait to discover the crop of exciting new talent.”