The Great British Bake Off’s spin-off show presenter Jo Brand has supported Mary Berry’s decision to stay at the BBC – and joked that fans will have to swap cakes for sausage rolls when it airs on Channel 4.
Judge Mary and presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins have opted not to follow the dough and stay put at the BBC out of loyalty, with only Paul Hollywood moving to the rival channel after he declared the tent is “where I belong”.
Comedian Jo, 59, said she has no idea whether Channel 4 will broadcast a spin-off show similar to BBC Two’s An Extra Slice, after it controversially poached Bake Off from the corporation.
Bake Off’s Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins with judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood (Ian West/PA)
Asked whether the much-loved show is “falling apart”, with it only retaining judge Paul from the original four, Jo suggested viewers could find another means of getting their baking fix.
“They’ll just have to go to the shop and buy something won’t they,” she joked on ITV show Lorraine. “Buy a sausage roll.”
Speaking of 81-year-old Mary’s decision to say “farewell to soggy bottoms”, Jo added: “I don’t blame Mary. She probably wants to put her feet up. I’m 20 years younger and I’d quite like to put my feet up… She’s amazing.
“I’d like to think she will come round my house and bake exclusively for me.”
She said of the prospect of her spin-off show moving to Channel 4: “I’ve no idea. I honestly can say no-one’s said anything to me. I don’t know anything.”
Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror reports that Mary, Mel and Sue could join forces to launch a rival baking show on BBC1, with former Saturday Kitchen host James Martin possibly replacing Paul.
James Martin (BBC/Cactus TV)
An insider was quoted as saying: “The chances of us reuniting Mary, Mel and Sue are very high.”
Former Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain has tweeted her support for both Mary and Paul.
Wow busy day! Just catching up with everything. Love Mary and Paul and I'm sure they've each made the right decision for them.
— Nadiya Jamir Hussain (@BegumNadiya) September 22, 2016
Paul, who has come under fire from fans of the show for moving to Channel 4, decided to stay with the Bake Off despite being approached by the BBC about Top Gear.
A TV source said: “He was offered a significant role on Top Gear. It was serious money. The word is he would only get it if he signed up exclusively to the BBC.”
Hollywood will get a pay rise for his switch to C4, with the suggestion he could earn £300,000 a series – making the deal worth around £1 million over three years, plus more for added endorsements.
Paul Hollywood had been in talks with the BBC over a Top Gear role (Matt Alexander/PA)
After days of speculation, Mary announced on Thursday that she is saying “farewell to soggy bottoms”.
Mary said she would stay with the BBC, which has “nurtured me”, and she added that she feels “sad” for the audience who do not want the show to change.
Paul was criticised for failing to mention Mary in his initial statement about his future, despite thanking the BBC, Mel and Sue.
But he later tweeted to say how much he would miss the star.
Paul and Mary in the Bake Off tent (Mark Bourdillon/BBC)
Richard McKerrow, creative director at Bake Off makers Love Productions, attempted to reassure fans the show will not change substantially, despite the loss of its hosts and one of its judges.
The BBC is believed to have offered Love Productions £15 million a year to keep the programme, but that is reported to have fallen £10 million short.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel