THE GREAT BRITISH Bake Off is departing the BBC for Channel 4 – and this evening hosts Mel & Sue have confirmed that they won’t be “going with the dough” and following suit.
The BBC said earlier it had lost the rights to GBBO, which it has broadcast since its first series in 2010, picking up fans all over the world. Channel 4 offered more money to programme maker Love Productions.
The publicly funded broadcaster said in a statement that ‘Bake Off’ is “a quintessentially BBC programme” but “the BBC’s resources are not infinite”.
The BBC took the show — in which amateur bakers compete to create elaborate cakes, tortes, trifles and flans — from niche curiosity to cultural phenomenon.
Its successful recipe blends old-fashioned Britishness, a diverse array of contestants and a sprinkling of saucy humour.
More than 13 million people watched last season’s finale, won by Nadiya Hussain — a headscarf-wearing Bangladeshi-British baker who has been hailed as an inspiring symbol of 21st-century Britain.
Double entendre-loving co-hosts Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins said they would quit rather than make the move.
“We were very shocked and saddened to learn yesterday evening that Bake Off will be moving from its home,” their joint statement said.
“We made no secret of our desire for the show to remain where it was.
“The BBC nurtured the show from its infancy and helped give it its distinctive warmth and charm, growing it from an audience of two million to nearly 15 at its peak.
“We’ve had the most amazing time on Bake Off, and have loved seeing it rise and rise like a pair of yeasted Latvian baps.
We’re not going with the dough. We wish all the future bakers every success.
News of the show’s move from the Beeb has made headlines around the world today.
Meanwhile, a former contestant, Richard Burr, tweeted that “Without Mel and Sue it just isn’t Bake Off” – while the presenting pair also picked up support from fellow comedians online.
There’s no word on whether the show’s baking judges, Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry, will make the move to Channel 4.
With reporting from Associated Press
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