TV star forced to apologise for ill-timed joke following poisonous mushrooms scandal

A TV star was forced to explain herself for an unfortunate ill-timed joke, following the death of three people who are suspected to have eaten poisonous mushrooms.

Mara Lejins made an accidental blunder on Monday’s episode of the Aussie version of The Chase, having made a joke about her cooking leaving people in hospital.

She later took to social media to clarify that the episode was filmed before news broke that three people in Victoria died from a suspected mushroom poisoning.

Erin Patterson recently invited former in-laws Gail and Don Patterson, both 70, as well as Mrs Patterson's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, and her husband Reverend Ian Wilkinson, 68, to lunch at her home, cooking the group a beef wellington.

But tragedy struck when all four guests fell ill, with Mrs Wilkinson and Mrs Patterson both passing away on 5 August, followed by Mr Patterson the following day.

Nine

Mr Wilkinson is still in hospital and is said to be in critical condition while he awaits a liver transplant.

Ms Patterson and her two kids, however, did not fall ill, with the children said to have eaten a different meal.

After suspecting that all four guests had consumed poisonous mushrooms known as death caps during the gathering, police in Victoria have confirmed Ms Patterson has been named as a suspect, although she denies any wrongdoing.

In yesterday’s episode of The Chase, Lejins - whose nickname on the show is ‘The Smiling Assassin’ - quipped about hospitalising a loved one with dodgy cooking.

As she went head-to-head with a contestant who said they love cooking, the Chaser said: “I'm also an amazing chef... and when my boyfriend gets out of hospital, he'll definitely back me up. I didn't do it!”

After her comments hit the news sites, she quickly took to Instagram to explain what had happened.

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Lejins posted a screenshot from a news story headlined: “Oops. Chaser’s untimely joke on food poisoning.”

A subheading added: “Of all the times to drop a gag about food poisoning...”

In her caption, Lejins pointed out that it was entirely coincidental, as the episode she starred in had been filmed previously.

Instagram/@maralejins

“I promise this episode was filmed before the Death Cap debacle,” she stressed, adding two woozy-looking faces.

Victoria Police has said there was no update on the mushroom poisoning investigation.

"Beyond that, we are not commenting on specific details of the case or what actions police will undertake as part of the investigation," a spokesperson said.

"If there are any updates we are able to release publicly, we will certainly let everyone know."