Former Ready Steady Cook host Peter Everett has reportedly been charged with inappropriate sexual contact with a 16-year-old boy.

NSW Police have confirmed to news.com.au that the former television presenter was apprehended at a residence in Toukley on the NSW Central Coast this past Saturday.

Officers from the Tuggerah Lakes District initiated their investigation into the alleged incident a day prior to Everett's arrest.

“Following comprehensive inquiries, police detained a 66-year-old man at a home in Toukley,” stated a release from NSW Police.

“The individual was transported to Wyong Police Station where charges were filed for sexually touching another person without consent.”

Peter Everett was a fixture on Ready Steady Cook for five years before being succeeded. (Credit: Ten)

On Saturday night, Everett remained in custody before appearing at Parramatta Local Court on Sunday, where he entered a plea of not guilty.

His subsequent court appearance is scheduled for September 3 at Wyong Local Court.

Everett, who was granted bail during the proceedings, reportedly refuted the charge when questioned by Nine News outside the courtroom.

Once a familiar figure on Australian television screens, Everett launched his career in 1998 as an interior designer on Changing Rooms, yet has encountered financial difficulties in recent years. In 2022, he disclosed that he had been compelled to sell cherished belongings to remain solvent.

Most recognized for hosting Channel 10’s Ready Steady Cook for five years until his abrupt exit in 2011, Everett informed 4BC Afternoons at the time that he had been auctioning personal items merely “to survive.”

Although his tenure as Ready Steady Cook host contributed to a revival in ratings when he replaced Nick Stratford in 2006, Everett was dismissed before Christmas in 2010.

“I was at the airport about to embark on a trip when I received a call from Rory Callaghan (who was the chief executive officer of Southern Star Productions at the time) saying that I think I'm more important than the show,” Everett recounted.

“I told him, ‘I am a significant part of the show, but I just want what’s best for the show’.

“I mentioned, ‘If my ego were so inflated and I were greedy, I would have requested a pay rise’, which I hadn’t received in three years, even with our excellent ratings.

“He stated, ‘While you’re away, we’re going to interview new candidates for the show’.”

Everett's final appearance on Australian television occurred in 2013, when he participated in season three of The Celebrity Apprentice Australia.