MKR Nigella Lawson: 'MANU IS A TERRIBLE TEASE!'

The new MKR host is ready to create a stir Down Under

There are two reasons why Nigella Lawson is itching to start her new role as host of Seven's reboot of My Kitchen Rules.

"I love Australia, I always feel at home here," Nigella, 62, tells Woman's Day.

"The quality of food in Australia is also just so good. The produce is great and varied, and yet it's not fussy or pretentious."

And the second reason is, of course, her charismatic and oh-so-handsome French-Australian co-host Manu Feildel.

"He was just so welcoming and lovely," she enthuses.

"He's so loved by the crew - that's always something you need to look for. It tells you something when someone isn't," she says of the TV judge, who is entering his 12th season on the reality juggernaut.

However, that didn't stop the original MKR judge, 48, from showing some of that famous Parisian bite, Nigella reveals. "Oh, he's a terrible tease," she confesses. "But I have a brother, so I'm toughened to deal with a bit of teasing. It doesn't upset me because it just feels affectionate."