Donal Skehan stepped in to host Saturday Kitchen Live on 3 October 2026, replacing the usual presenter Matt Tebbutt. The episode featured chefs Jamie Oliver, Gennaro Contaldo and Julie Lin, alongside Stranger Things actor Gaten Matarazzo in the studio.
Addressing the absence of the 52-year-old presenter, Donal, 40, said: "Welcome to the show, Matt is away, so Donal can play!"
Matt's other project
It appears that Matt is busy on another project as he posted updates to his Instagram Story about working on The Go To Food Podcast, writing: "Did a fun thing with these two smashers! Coming soooooonnn!"
Prior to Saturday Kitchen Live airing, BBC Breakfast spoke to Donal to hear what the show had coming up, where Naga Munchetty discussed Matt's absence.
Cookbook debate
Naga, 51, said: "Donal! Good morning to you!" with Donal responding: "Good morning, Naga, this might be a nice little palate cleanser for you. You know, no Matt this week, but I'm here!"
With Naga joking: "Well, yeah, this is definitely a palate cleanser, in terms of no Matt!" the BBC Breakfast host then put Donal on the spot, asking if anyone had ever told him his recipe hadn't worked after releasing an impressive 13 cook books.
A shocked Donal responded: "Never. Why?" with Naga admitting: "Because I don't think... I don't think they're always accurate. Especially when it, you know, comes to time and whatever. What do you think?"
Jamie Oliver's challenge
With Donal replying: "Naga! Well, I think you're completely wrong, firstly, and we have Jamie Oliver in the house to prove you wrong, because we're going to do 20 minutes of straight-through cooking, showing you can make anything delicious in no time at all!"
"So, er, my cookbooks aren't tested like that, but Jamie's are, and we're going to... we're going to do great things, and hopefully prove you wrong."
Donal then quipped: "I thought you were going to be nice to me after Matt's out of the seat!" with Naga joking in response: "That was nice!"
Saturday Kitchen Live continues on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
