Valerie Bertinelli was in talks to continue Children’s baking championship before he was fired on Friday.
A source close to the show’s production told PEOPLE that when Bertinelli’s latest contract ended, a return to Children’s baking championship was “absolutely discussed”. However, Valerie’s team “decided they wanted more and the talks stalled”.
Another source said of the negotiations: “Her deal was done, and [Food Network] decided not to renew. They didn’t make a new offer, but Valerie was very keen to continue.”
The Food Network did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
In an Instagram Story post published on Saturday, Bertinelli, 63, cited “budget cuts” as the reason she was told she would not be co-hosting the next season of the cooking competition with Duff Goldman.
“It really hurt me,” she told her followers in a lengthy video statement.
She further said that she filmed the current season in the summer of 2022, when she was going through a difficult divorce from Tom Vitale. She said that filming the series made her feel productive and like she was spreading kindness around the world.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(356x0:358x2)/Valarie-Bertinelli-012024-3-222c27bea03d4f938ffec3625197f257.jpg)
Valerie Bertinelli on Instagram.
Valerie Bertinelli/Instagram
Valerie Bertinelli learns that her grandfather had another secret family Searching for your roots
“Without sounding like a drama queen, the show saved my life,” Bertinelli said, adding that it was “like a flotation device” in what she described as her “peak year of hell.”
“It really hurts that I won’t be able to go back and see everything and say, ‘Hey, I made it,'” she added.
Bertinelli was the host Children’s baking championship since the broadcast of the first season in 2015.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education