There was no word on whether the show’s baking judges, Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry, will make the move to Channel 4. Upon hearing the news they said they felt “very shocked and saddened” that the show would be departing from BBC, stating that “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 almost 15 [million] at its peak”.
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Here is why the new Bake Off will not be quite the same without Mel and Sue, who many say are the best thing abou the baking show.
Hosts Mary Berry, Paul Hollywood, Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc proved an unbeatable recipe for viewers with episodes regularly bringing in 10 million viewers.
It might not be a duo that replaces Mel and Sue, however, with comedian Jo Brand taking the lead as the favourite to be the new host according to William Hill bookmakers.
“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 almost 15 at its peak”.
The BBC and Channel 4 ended up in a bidding war for the Love Productions-made show, but Channel 4 prevailed with an offer for a three-year deal.
The silhouetted figures in the image immediately had people wondering who the new presenters would be, after Mel and Sue announced yesterday that they would not be “going with the dough”. “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”.
Still, we thought, at least Love Productions probably won’t mess with the very successful recipe. The whole family loves it. “But they have always said they are in it together”, the source continued.
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Meanwhile, bookmaker Coral have also tipped former “Celebrity Masterchef” victor Lisa Faulkner as a contender to replace Mary and Paul if they decide to leave the show. There’s no doubting that when Channel 4 bid for the show they dreamt that they would get the star talent too.
