The head of Channel 4 has promised fans of The Great British Bake Off that the programme will have a “safe home” on the channel.
Jay Hunt, Channel 4′s chief creative officer, sought to allay worries that the hit baking competition will founder when it leaves the BBC without its popular presenters, Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc, after the current season.
Great British Bake Off judges Paul and Mary (Mark Bourdillon/BBC)
Judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, mainstays of the programme since it began in 2010, are yet to confirm if they will follow.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Hunt said the programme’s makers will be the key ingredient in its future success, while the move will keep it on free-to-air television.
“Great British Bake Off will have a safe home,” she said.
Jay Hunt (Channel4/PA Wire)
“The show of soggy bottoms and good crumb will be made by exactly the same team who have always made it.
“We love it just as it is. And for an amateur baker like me, that’s a real cause for celebration.”
Hunt used the recent move of Formula One from the BBC to Channel 4 as an example of a “good track record on protecting and growing the shows viewers love”.
The former BBC executive said Channel 4′s intervention had prevented the show being gobbled up by a pay-to-view television service.
Her post-Bake Off career has even seen Nadiya bake for the Queen (John Stillwell/PA)
“The BBC and Love Productions grew Bake Off from a quaint idea into a global hit. But when they were unable to reach agreement on future series, Bake Off risked coming off free-to-air television altogether.
“By bringing the show to 4, Love Productions have ensured it will be on a terrestrial channel for audiences to enjoy for years to come.”
The controversial move was triggered by the BBC’s unwillingness to pay the company behind Bake Off, Love Productions, a considerably larger sum to keep the programme.
Sue Perkins – with comedy partner Mel Giedroyc – will now front Sky 1′s The Big Spell (Mark Bourdillon / Press Association Images)
More than 10 million people tuned in to watch the start of the current series of Bake Off, while 15 million watched as Nadiya Hussain was crowned winner last year.
Hunt said the programme’s huge popularity would provide Channel 4 with a financial boost that will help it produce the other esoteric programming it is known for.
News of Bake Off’s move prompted a wave of anger from fans and a petition to keep it on the BBC has attracted almost 26,000 signatures.
Statement on Great British Bake Off: pic.twitter.com/j4D0mMoqmN
— BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) September 12, 2016
As the programme returned to screens on Wednesday night fans said the show felt “bittersweet”, with viewers on Twitter speaking of their sadness and frustration.
The presenters opened the show singing a jovial ditty about the remaining bakers, before making a joke about cricket bats to mark batter week, and viewers said the song proved the programme would not be the same without them.
In a statement released earlier this week, Sue and Mel said they had “made no secret of our desire for the show to remain where it was” and were not “going with the dough”.
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