MKR judge Colin Fassnidge raised a toast to Jock Zonfrillo. Then a ‘bombshell’ made him cry

Straight-talking MKR judge Colin Fassnidge has opened up on the impact that the death of friend and fellow chef Jock Zonfrillo had on the filming of the new season.

Zonfrillo died earlier this year, not long before filming of MKR got underway.

And in a sneak peek at the new season of the show, Colin – generally considered the tough-nut, “bad cop” half of the judging team compared to Manu Fieldel – can be seen letting his guard down and having a cry.

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The Irish-born chef shed tears as identical twin sisters described why they chose to cook a special dish.

The twins’ father died when they were just little girls, but his memory has been kept alive through the food he loved, and the sisters continue to cook his favourite dishes as a way to honour him.

When the sisters regaled Colin with this emotional story, he was visibly moved.

So, is the straight-talking Irishman really just a great big softie at heart?

“Well, I don’t think anyone really goes out to cry on TV,” Colin tells 7Life.

“But it was around the time that (MasterChef star and friend) Jock Zonfrillo had died, about a week after that.

“Me and Manu (Feildel) had a little campervan out the back of the shoot, so when we’d finished shooting we’d go on a break, and we were actually having a whisky to Jock.

“We were talking about families and kids; we’re both dads and we were talking about that, and then we went in and we got hit with this bombshell (story from the sisters) and I was just like, ‘wow’.

“The first half of the season was very emotional, actually, because Jock had just died, and we were all feeling it; the cameramen, the crew too.

“It was actually quite a nice time as well, because everyone took time to, you know, hug each other and make sure everyone was all right.”

As a result, the sisters’ story of losing their father at such a young age really hit Colin hard.

“Me and Manu are both Dads and, you know, they cooked for their Dad on Father’s Day, and I was like, ‘f***, here we go, here come the tears’,” he says.

“I was trying not to cry, but it didn’t work.”

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My Kitchen Rules premieres 7.30pm Monday, 4 September on Channel 7 and 7plus