14 DAY TRIAL // Nigella Lawson’s ex-husband Charles Saatchi has been making a series of very grave drug allegations about her in court, in an ongoing fraud trial in which they’re both victims and main eyewitnesses, and the scandal might end up costing her her US television career.
Nigella, as foodies must know, is now with ABC for the show The Taste, which is different from other cooking shows in that it has a jury of world-renowned chefs judge a dish based solely on one taste of it, in a spoon. It also stands out for the fact that the judges don’t get to see who cooked the dish until they’ve passed a ruling on it.
Meanwhile, her husband is telling the court that she paid 2 of her personal assistants thousands of dollars to keep quiet on her drug habit, which she kept a secret from him too.
They spent money from the family account on luxury holidays, hotel stays, and fashion accessories, because Nigella was desperate not to have them talk to anyone about what she was doing, Saatchi has alleged.
Season 2 of The Taste is scheduled to premiere in January but Nigella’s future with the network is uncertain past than, the NY Daily News has learned.
“In light of the allegations, ABC executives are mulling whether to invite Lawson back for a third season as a judge on The Taste, a competitive reality cooking show, sources told the Daily News. The upcoming season of the show, which also features chef personality Anthony Bourdain, is already filmed and set to air Jan. 2, an ABC rep said, declining further comment,” the report notes.
If the drug allegations turn out to be founded, ABC will probably not want to be associated with Nigella anymore and won’t ask her back. As of now, she’s yet to address the claims made in court, so we can’t really know whom to believe.
Below is a trailer for season 1 of The Taste, which was meant to help Nigella break on the US market, a long-standing dream of hers.
