COLIN'S KIWI HEALTH SCARE 'IT WAS A BIG WAKE-UP CALL!'

The MKR New Zealand judge's illness forced him to face some home truths

It's celebrity chef Colin Fassnidge's day off when Woman's Day pins him down for a chat, but you wouldn't know it. It's a chaotic scene at his home in Sydney as he shouts something about Tik Tok to a film crew on their way out the door.

"Can I just say how much I love filming in New Zealand, because filming in Aussie is horrible," Colin admits as he finally sits down. "We're getting picked up tomorrow at 4am to fly to Brisbane for five days, then we head to Perth for five days and we've just got back from Adelaide." After some sympathetic noises, he shrugs. "Ah, it's alright. It pays the bills!"

The MKR New Zealand judge is in the middle of filming the 14th season of the Aussie series and the usually composed yet cheeky Irishman seems slightly flustered. This seems as good a time as any to ask about his recent Kiwi health scare, back when he was in the middle of filming in Aotearoa. "I wasn't well," he explains.

"Every time I ate, I didn't feel good. My stomach would churn. After a while, I called my doctor, who is as subtle as a brick. He said, 'Oh, I reckon it could be bowel cancer." His doctor advised Colin be sent to see a surgeon for tests in a fortnight.