Channel 4 has stolen the Great British Bake Off from the BBC after the corporation refused to pay £25 million a year to hold on to the hit baking show.

Love Productions, the company behind Bake Off, announced on Monday afternoon that it would withdraw the programme from the BBC at the end of the current series, having failed to seal a new deal after “more than a year of exhaustive negotiations”.

Two hours later, Channel 4 announced that it had agreed a three-year deal for Bake Off, after programme-makers insisted that they wanted to remain on free-to-air television.

The commercial broadcaster is said to have paid around £25 million a year for the contract, which will involve up to 40 hours of programming each year, including a variety of professional and celebrity specials.