Channel 4 bosses eyeing feisty put-down queen Cherish Finden to replace Mary Berry on Bake Off
Viewers branded ex-world pastry champ 'evil' after she reduced one baker to tears
CHANNEL 4 chiefs are lining up feisty ex-world pastry champ Cherish Finden to replace Mary Berry on Bake Off.
Cherish, a judge on the BBC show’s professionals spin-off Crème de la Crème, is known around the globe for her show-stopping creations.
And her blunt put-downs are in stark contrast to Mary’s positive criticisms.
Viewers branded Cherish “evil” after she reduced one baker to tears but the worst comment Mary usually makes about a baker’s effort is describing it as “informal”.
Producers also hope Cherish’s strict style of using a ruler to make sure the contestants’ bakes are all uniform will add something different to Mary’s hard but fair style.
Mary, 81, is to quit after Love Productions sold the show to Channel 4 in a £75million, three-year deal.
The cooking veteran said she would be loyal to the BBC but fellow judge Paul Hollywood, 50, is set to receive a £400,000-a-series salary with the new broadcaster.
An insider said: “Cherish has already worked with makers Love Productions and she was great on screen.
“She’s a world-class expert in pastries and cakes so she knows her stuff and will compliment Paul, whose background is more savoury.
“Filling the judge’s role will be extremely hard so they know they have to act fast to make sure they’ve got someone who knows their stuff and has appeared on TV before.”
Singapore-born Cherish won 18 gold medals in competitions across the world, including the Culinary Olympics in 2000.
She is currently executive pastry chef at the swanky Langham Hotel in central London and won Pastry Chef of the Year in 2012.
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Cherish also judges the Dessert of the Year competition that she won in 2001.
Bake Off hosts Mel Giedroyc, 48, and Sue Perkins, 47, are also quitting, saying they would not be “following the dough” after the move to Channel 4 was announced.
A Channel 4 source last night said replacements were likely to be officially unveiled next year.
Cherish's worst put-downs
Chef, what happened? You didn't hit the brief. That's not 32 slices. What a disappointment!
In terms of size, I'm actually quite disappointed
You need to cut the cake to perfection. This one measures 3.5mm and this is 0.5mm different. If you give a 0.1mm difference, I can accept that, but this is not quite acceptable. You are a professional