New presenters will join new judge Prue Leith and Bake Off stalwart Paul Hollywood in the Channel 4 version of the show

The departure of Mel and Sue put the nation’s bakers in a spin. Now Channel 4 is banking on another double act to appease them: Sandi and Noel.

The comedian Noel Fielding, best known for The Mighty Boosh, and Sandi Toksvig, the panel show stalwart and QI host, have been announced as the replacements for Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, who left the show after its move from the BBC.

As had been widely rumoured, the cookery writer and presenter Prue Leith will step into Mary Berry’s shoes as a judge, working alongside Paul Hollywood, who was the only member of the original team to move channels with the show for its eighth season. Leith previously described the gig as a “dream”.

Channel 4 will hope the announcement ends a chapter of disruption for the show, following a fan and media meltdown when its creator Love Productions announced its defection from the BBC after seven series in a deal worth £25m a year. A source close to the company said “three years of bad blood” between the BBC and Love Productions had contributed to the move.



Giedroyc and Perkins issued a pointed statement saying they would not be “going with the dough”, and Berry told the Radio Times she had “avoided being asked” whether she would switch channels, and would have declined even if more money had been on offer.

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Hollywood, a celebrity baker famed for his steely gaze and take-no-prisoners judging style, defended his decision to move with the show in an interview with the Times. “If you could double your wages by going across the road to a rival, would you? I haven’t murdered anyone. But I think the Yorkshire Ripper got less press than I did,” he said.

The revamped show will go head-to-head with a rival cookery show on the BBC. The former Bake Off champion Nadiya Hussain will present The Big Family Cooking Showdown alongside Zoë Ball, with the chefs Rosemary Shrager and Giorgio Locatelli as judges.

Leith’s appointment had been well trailed. The 77-year-old South African-born novelist, restaurateur, broadcaster and cookery writer had made no secret of her keenness for the role. “I’m certainly one of the runners. I can wish. I can dream,” she said last month, revealing that she had had two auditions and “lots of meetings” about joining the show.

Toksvig had been widely viewed as a potential candidate for one of the presenter roles and became a late favourite, with bookmakers William Hill slashing odds against her from 12-1 to 5-1 on Thursday morning. She was tied as favourite with comedian and director Richard Ayoade.

The show runs alongside her burgeoning political career as the co-founder of the Women’s Equality party, which won more than 360,000 votes in the May 2016 London mayoral elections. A spokeswoman said she has no plans to stop hosting QI, adding: “It’s her dream job.”



When Toksvig took on her QI role, she told the Radio Times it would be “absurd” if she were not paid the same as her predecessor, Stephen Fry. Asked whether she would be paid the same as Fielding for the Bake Off post, her spokeswoman said: “I’d like to think the question might be, will Noel be paid the same as her?”

Fielding is the wild card in the new Bake Off pack as he steps into his first major presenting role. His previous experience in the field is limited to a two-part Channel 4 documentary about Damien Hirst. He told the Mirror he was a keen cook. “If I got the chance I’d go on MasterChef,” he said.

Hollywood said: “I could not be more delighted by who will be joining me on the show. Prue is a hugely respected culinary legend, and Sandi and Noel are warm and utterly hilarious. I cannot wait to get back in the tent with the bakers.”



Jay Hunt, the channel’s chief creative officer, said the show would have a “uniquely Channel 4 take”, adding: “Paul and Prue have huge amounts of expertise and warmth. I’m looking forward to seeing them putting our great new bunch of amateur bakers through their paces. Sandi and Noel bring a fresh wit and quirkiness to the tent.”

Toksvig described Bake Off as a “Best of British show” and a “national treasure”. “Noel Fielding is one of the nicest guys in show business. The first time I met him I felt like I had met a rather wayward cousin whose take on the world made me laugh,” she said. “The only downside is that he has much better dress sense that I do. I spend my daytimes on Channel 4 already so it will be a treat to be there in the evenings.”

Fielding said: “I’ve always loved brightly coloured cakes and Sandi Toksvig so this is a dream come true for me. It’s basically the double.”