Former Ready Steady Cook host Peter Everett is facing serious legal trouble after being charged with the alleged sexual touching of a 16-year-old boy without consent.
The 66-year-old appeared in Parramatta Local Court over the weekend, where he pleaded not guilty to the charge and denied any wrongdoing when confronted by media outside the courthouse.
Police have since applied for an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) against Everett on behalf of a third party identified only as ‘MD’. That matter is set to be heard at Wyong Local Court on Thursday, on the NSW Central Coast.
Everett was arrested on Saturday at a Toukley residence following an investigation by the Tuggerah Lakes Police District, launched the day prior.
“Following extensive inquiries, police arrested a 66-year-old man at a home at Toukley,” NSW Police said in a statement. “The man was taken to Wyong Police Station where he was charged with sexually touching another person without consent.”
He spent Saturday night behind bars before being granted bail on Sunday, with strict conditions. These include twice-weekly reporting to Waverley Police Station in Sydney’s east and a ban on contacting the alleged victim or any witnesses. He is only permitted to return to his home to collect belongings while accompanied by police.
Interim AVO conditions currently prohibit Everett from assaulting, threatening, stalking, harassing or intimidating the alleged victim.
Everett rose to national prominence as the host of Channel 10’s Ready Steady Cook from 2006 to 2011, before being abruptly fired while overseas on holiday.
“It was me who called him and said, ‘Don’t bother coming back from Bali,’” former Southern Star Productions CEO Rory Callaghan later said. “It was a hard production with him so it was time to move on.”
Everett has remained outspoken about his treatment by the network, expressing disappointment over his dismissal and later frustration at being snubbed for the show’s 2024 reboot.
“I was like a three-year-old for a couple of days, who constantly asks, ‘Why, why, why?’” Everett told New Idea last year. “They didn’t approach me for some reason. Who knows why? It’s a shame.”
In 2022, amid the financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, Everett revealed he had been forced to sell his possessions just to stay afloat, telling 4BC radio he had “lost his livelihood” during lockdowns.
The child sex offence case and related restraining order application remain before the courts.
Images: Supplied
