Robert Irvine has criticised Food Network’s reboot of Restaurant Impossible, saying he will not watch the new version because he regards the original series as his creation. He accused the network of damaging the programme’s legacy by replacing its established team and filming in Canada to obtain tax credits, although Food Network had not responded when Deadline published the report.

Restaurant Impossible: Last Call premiered this week, led by chefs Aarón Sánchez and Jen Agg as they help struggling businesses. Irvine hosted the original programme for 22 seasons and said he and his longtime production colleagues had built close relationships with participating families; he described the reboot as an attempt to cheaply revive a successful format and said the network was setting its new talent up to fail.