Former winners and celebrity fans of The Great British Bake Off have shared their views on the flagship BBC programme’s surprise move to Channel 4.
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It is not yet known whether the show’s presenters and judges – Mel Giedroyc, Sue Perkins, Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood – will move with the show to its new home.
The Telegraph said Channel 4 has committed to commissioning 40 hours of “Bake Off” and related programming, including a “Stand Up To Cancer” charity special in 2017.
“Love Productions”, the company behind the show, announced that BBC could no longer retain the broadcasting rights or renew the commission of the baking show after seven series.
The BBC said they would have loved to have kept the show but added they were “a considerable distance apart on the money”.
Sue Perkins retweeted a statement from the BBC when the news was confirmed which included a line about hoping that Love Productions would reconsider their decision, and that The Great British Bake Off would stay on the BBC.
Chief creative officer Jay Hunt said: “I’m delighted we have been able to partner with the hugely talented team at Love Productions to keep this much-loved show on free-to-air television”.
Whilst Richard McKerrow, the creative director of Love Productions, added: “We believe we’ve found the ideal new home for “Bake Off”.
If by now you haven’t heard that the Great British Bake Off will be leaving the BBC next year for pastures a new, where have you been? The BBC’s resources are not infinite’. The public broadcaster called Bake Off a “quintessentially BBC program”.
Seth MacFarlane created the Emmy award-winning series and also voices dog Brian, dad Peter and one-year-old Stewie in the show.
Channel 4 are thought to have fought off competition from both ITV and Netflix, as well as the BBC, to win the rights to the show and are believed to be paying around £25 million a year to broadcast it.
It was the station’s most-watched program of 2015, with 13.4 million people in the United Kingdom alone tuning in to watch the final.
That would have been double the amount the BBC now pays for the show and its sister programmes such as An Extra Slice and the Sport Relief specials.
The show began on BBC Two in 2010 before moving over to BBC One in 2014. The premiere of the 2016 series saw an average audience of 10.4 million – over a million more than the 2015 series launch.
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The programme, now airing on BBC1 on Wednesday evenings, is hosted by Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.
