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.
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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.
Valerie Bertinelli on Instagram.
Valerie Bertinelli/Instagram
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“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.
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Source: HIS Education