Ready Steady Cook: Ex-host Peter Everett is broke, selling his possessions

Peter Everett was unceremoniously sacked from Ready Steady Cook over the phone in 2011, after transforming the show during his five years as host.

And more than 10 years later, the TV presenter has revealed he is now selling off his possessions just ‘to survive’ after a tough few years during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Everett, who regularly appears at food festivals across the country, told 4BC Afternoons host Rob McKnight he’d ‘lost his livelihood’ because of the lockdowns.

Making money: Former Ready Steady Cook host Peter Everett has been selling his possessions just ‘to survive’ after a tough few years during the Covid-19 pandemic. Pictured in July 2014

‘There’s been a lot of sales on my behalf. I’m selling anything – not down to the garage sale yet – but I’ve been selling off a lot of things,’ Everett said.

‘It really hasn’t been an easy time. It hasn’t. The entertainment industry, a lot of my friends far less fortunate than I have had it really, really bad.’

When radio host McKnight pressed for details about the financial situation, Everett said: ‘I’m very open about that: you’ve got to survive somehow. They’re only possessions. Funnily enough, during this Covid time, sales were big. Auctions were huge.’

Fame: Peter joined Ready Steady Cook in 2006, replacing Nick Stratford as host

‘People were spending their money somewhere, buying art work et cetera. It turned out it was a good time to sell, so it kept me going I’ll tell you,’ he added.

‘Thank you, everybody, for buying.’

Everett joined Ready Steady Cook in 2006, replacing Nick Stratford as host.

But he was dumped from the show in 2011, saying at the time he was ‘disappointed’ to have been fired over the phone just before heading overseas on holiday.

Rory Callaghan, the CEO of Southern Star Productions (now Endemol Australia), which produced the series, later defended the decision to sack Everett.

Everything must go: ‘You’ve got to survive… They’re only possessions. Funnily enough, during this Covid time, sales were big. Auctions were huge,’ said Everett (pictured in 2019)

Callaghan told TV Tonight: ‘It was me who called him and said, “Don’t bother coming back from Bali.” It was a hard production with him so it was time to move on.’

Speaking to news.com.au in 2019, Everett added: ‘[Callaghan] was saying that I think I’m greater than the show. I think it meant I thought I was so indispensable and that they couldn’t do the show without me.’

He said he’d told the executive that if his ‘ego’ was as big as they said it was, he would have ‘asked for a pay rise’, calling the excuse to sack him ‘absolute rubbish’.

Gone: Everett was dumped from Ready Steady Cook in 2011, saying at the time he was ‘disappointed’ to have been fired over the phone just before heading overseas on holiday

At the time of Everett’s dismissal, Callaghan took personal responsibility for making the call to replace him with a new host.

‘I think we’d reached a point where we all needed to move on,’ he added.

Everett admitted he was ‘a bit wildered’ by his firing because ratings were good.

‘If something is working, don’t change it, just leave it. It was really hard, really rough. Whatever reason it happened, he said.

Everett was replaced by comedian Colin Lane, but admitted he could not bring himself to watch the show after being sacked.

Painful: Everett was replaced by comedian Colin Lane, but admitted he could not bring himself to watch the show after being sacked