GBBF back to the fore — changes and all
FANS of oven fresh innuendo will soon be able to get their fix again as The Great British Bake Off makes its Channel 4 debut tonight.
After months of debate about the pros and cons of the show’s move from the BBC, viewers can make their own minds up as judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood rate 12 contestands in a bid to find Britain’s best amateur baker.
Changes to the show, which include a largely new line up of presenters and the introduction of ad-breaks, haven’t proved popular with commentators, and Channel 4 faces a challenge as it takes on the programme that averaged an audience of 13.6million viewers per episode last year.
The controversial replacement of Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc with Sandi Toksvig and Noel Fielding has been a particular point of concern among fans.
Fielding, the co-creator of surreal comedy series The Mighty Boosh, said: ‘When it was announced I was doing it, some people thought, “What the hell is he going to do, wear a top hat and throw all the cakes on the floor?”
‘But I have the biggest respect for the show and I just wanted to slot in.
‘I sometimes feel more comfortable playing a merman with a vagina, but the show’s not about us.’
A self-proclaimed fan of co-host Toksvig, Fielding added: ‘It’s like Doctor Who with a dizzy assistant.
‘We’re quite an unlikely double act…but when we did our chemistry test we made love immediately — comedicly.
Toksvig added: ‘There is a baby by the end (of the series).’
The Great British Bake Off airs on Channel 4 at 8pm this evening.
Author: Ann Jones
