Horrified celebs blast Great British Bake Off move from BBC to Channel 4
Lord Sugar, Kirsty Allsopp and Nick Robinson all took to Twitter to vent their anger over the change
CELEBRITY fans of the Great British Bake Off were left with a nasty taste in their mouths yesterday — after Channel 4 swiped the show from the BBC.
They were horrified as makers Love Productions announced it was leaving the BBC after seven years following the failure of year-long talks about money.
Lord Sugar, star of BBC’s The Apprentice, blasted Love Productions for their “greed”.
He said: “I feel sorry for the BBC. They invested years in making Bake Off popular and the greedy disloyal format owner has sold it to Ch4.”
DJ Danny Baker added: “Love Productions are going to find that they are the least important ingredient in the GBBO brand.”
Ex-BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson said the Bake Off switch would make a bigger splash than David Cameron standing down as an MP.
He tweeted: “Politics is a cruel business. Bake Off’s Off will be a bigger story than Dave’s Off.”
As ordinary viewers flocked to social media to share their disgust, comedian Rhys James wrote: “Bake Off leaving BBC is like your dad leaving mum. You still get to see him but in a flat above a Domino’s.”
None of the Bake Off stars commented publicly. But co-host Sue Perkins hinted at her upset by retweeting a BBC statement which told how it had “grown and nurtured” the show over seven series.
Sue, 46, co-host Mel Giedroyc, 48, and judges Mary Berry, 81, and Paul Hollywood, 50, have all previously said they want to remain at the BBC. And a source said yesterday: “Don’t be surprised to see new presenters when it moves to Channel 4.
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“Sue is an unashamed fan of the BBC and didn’t want to leave. Her and Mel both wanted it to stay put.
“Sue sharing the BBC’s statement giving itself a pat on the back rather than Love’s looking ahead to the future says it all.”
Former Bake Off winner Jo Wheatley said she thought the show would suffer on Channel 4.
She said: “With the lost time that the inevitable adverts take, it will be difficult to fit the hour-long show into a commercial TV channel’s hour.
“They will be wise to keep the ethos of the programme unaltered and the obligatory innuendos as these are what the public have come to love.”
Jo said she had taken an online poll to get the public reaction to the channel switch — and it was overwhelmingly negative.
She added: “Nearly all are expressing a disappointment in the show moving but as they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating!”
The Bake Off move comes after year-long negotiations finally broke down. It opened the way for rivals to bid and Channel 4 sealed the biggest transfer in British TV history.
An email sent to all staff at Love Productions yesterday confirmed that “exhaustive” talks with the BBC had failed.
The production company and Channel 4 must now persuade Mary, Paul, Sue and Mel, to stay aboard if they are to keep the ingredients of one of the biggest TV success stories of recent years. A Love Productions source said: “Everyone is used to Paul, Mary, Mel and Sue being a part of the show.
“Love can’t foresee a show without them, but also they never could imagine leaving the BBC.” Another production source said: “The decision to leave the Beeb is largely about the longevity of the show.
“But Love were stunned the BBC wasn’t willing to put its money where its mouth was.
“This is the biggest show on TV. To let it slip through its fingers is absolute madness.”
And while all four Bake Off stars have made it clear they would like to stay with the BBC they also felt the show should be on an equal footing with Strictly Come Dancing in terms of pay and budget.
A source close to Mary said: “She’s concerned with how the integrity of the show will change when it moves channel.
“She has several eggs in the BBC basket — so has always been reluctant to leave.”
My View - by Ally Ross, Television Critic
WOW. The most over-used word in TV, but for once it’s justified.
The BBC has lost Bake Off to Channel 4 and it really does make you go “Wow”.
It’s not just that Bake Off guaranteed huge ratings, in competitive times, that causes a shock, of course.
It’s the fact that along with Strictly, the famous baking tent defines the corporation’s identity in 2016 perfectly.
Bake Off, much like the Beeb, is slightly twee, very reassuring, Middle England by design, yet politically correct to its very core.
It was a complete accident that it ever became a big hit, or Mel and Sue would never have been trusted to present the show.
The real challenge for the BBC now will be conjuring up anything else that can attract ten million viewers.
Judging by its recent obsession with reinventing old shows, such as Are You Being Served?, you wouldn’t rate those chances too highly.
Just wow.
