BBC lose Great British Bake Off

I enjoy Bake Off and like some of the humour from Mel and Sue. The programme needs an injection of humour. The stress levels in that tent must be dreadful. For those who don't like it, fair enough, don't watch it. I can't abide soaps, so depressing that I haven't watched them for years. Maybe they've improved but they corner a lot of viewing time. Hooray for freeview so we can avoid programmes that we don't enjoy.

I find it irresponsible and hypocritical.

tv not to

She's a to personality now. You like her or you don't. Can't stand her myself. Encouraging others to eat high fat high sugar, but only nibbling herself.

Let's see if she "goes with the dough".

Well said PamelaJ1

We are the last people who should be condemning an older woman for trying to look her best without looking like mutton dressed as lamb - and for working!

Leave Mary alone

I do find it amazing that so many contributors to grantsnet seem to be damming Mary for her age.
Aren't we all getting older, isn't she a good ambassador for us more experienced and sophisticated women?
My teeth, hair ect. aren't quite as perfect as they used to be good on her for showing the country that we are still a gorse to be reckoned with

Rumour is no matter what the BBC offered, the price would have been higher.

As much as I love Nadiya, she doesn't have the depth of experience to judge the main show. It doesn't need chefs as judges. It needs judges like Paul Hollywood with a bakery background, someone who understands the chemistry of ingredients. I suspect he'll go with the show to C4. Mary is more easily replaced, but I think she'll step down and just carry on with her own shows.

Nadiya is a judge on Junior Bake Off, which has yet to be aired. If she did well it is quite possible they would choose her for the adult version. There is no Channel 4 kids' channel so she would be free! I wouldn't be at all surprised if Mary backs down, it must be a huge commitment at her age.

Yes, turns out they don't need us anyway!

See?! All is well!

Bless her she needs the money to keep up with the false eyelashes, false nails and hair extensions.

I was listening to an interview on the radio this morning and Richard Osman (in his capacity as producer/director/presenter) was explaining why he thinks GBBO will do well on Channel 4. he said that channel 4 need a much lower audience figure (I think 4 million was mentioned) to make ends meet rather than the huge figures needed by the BBC. He also said that Channel 4 can afford to let it run and run and will be looking to make a lot of money on the back of the show with GBBO products. It was a very interesting interview actually.

Agree with Ana. If they cut the BBC Executives salaries/bonuses they would not have this problem. Personally I would scrap the licensing fee so that they could compete with the others and use advertising to subsidise their costs.

Forgive me if I'm repeating or contradicting something already said as TBH I haven't read all the posts.

There were lots of people knocking GBBO and its presenters at the start of the current series, as well as slurs on last year's winner. IMO it's the right time for a revamp and I think selling it to Channel 4 might be good. I shall certainly give it a try, which I doubt I would do if it was going to ITV.

I'm pleased Mel and Sue are leaving it as they're past their sell-by date on GBBO but I think Paul and Mary should stay, to get it established anyway.

Jamie Oliver? Not for me - I feel he works too hard at trying to regain his original TV persona. Gordon Ramsay? - no thanks. Nadiya? Now there's a thought ...

Jamie Oliver has expressed an interest, he would have the charisma but can be annoying.

Beckham your description of what happens before and after the adverts is exactly why I won't be watching it on C4. We never watch shows with adverts (we download them with the ads removed). There will be far less content once ads are factored into the timing.

The GBBO was the most watched show on the BBC in 2015, so it's clearly not past its sell by date. Plenty of viewers are non-bakers like me and to call it a cake show is ridiculous. It's about skills, knowledge and personalities.

Good for Mel and Sue for saying they won't be following the dough.

She gets £20k a shot? I have an old cookbook of hers I got in an Oxfam Bookstore and it's signed. Maybe I should eBay it LOL!

The trouble with a show moving from BBC to a commercial station is that there are ad breaks and each segment of the show ends with telling the viewer what's coming up in next segment, and then you have ads, then the next segment starts and they feel they have to remind you of what happened only three minutes ago. Which is why I always record anything on a commercial station so I can whizz through these tedious parts.
There are 14 minutes of advertising per hour on commercial terrestrial channels (the maximum by law, more for non-terrestrial) which means that you've immediately 'lost' 25% of the show - take out the 'coming-ups' and 'reminders' and the show content is down to 30 minutes!
Mary Berry charges £20,000 to make an appearance at an event. NanKate you were very lucky to get her for free at your event - this is very rare!
I have spent the day with Mr Hollywood - he was nice enough, but his ego is a tad inflated... but same applies to vast majority of anyone appearing on TV these days.

I enjoy it, but think it may have reached a natural end. I always say " Quit while you're winning." Channel 4 can only do it harm in my opinion. I like Channel 4 but not for Bake Off. If Mary has any sense she will quit, but it will depend on her contract. Not bothered about P H.

I don't like Bake Off. It mostly caters for people with big happy families with big appetites and we don't all have that pleasure anymore. I could never take to Mary Berry. She looks good but obviously with a lot of help from behind the scenes and her appearance could be demoralizing to women of her age who don't have the money or time to look that good.

So Channel 4 have spent 25 million pounds on a tent and a kitchen?

GBBO is going to channel 4, good riddance!!! I wish strictly would go too, I hate it.

I certainly couldn't stand Bruce Forsyth who was far too full of his own importance and should have been retired long before he bit the bullet. I do, however, like Mary Berry as her comments are invaiably constructive and she always tries to find something nice to say about the contestants' efforts. As for her dress sense, I think it is excellent. I don't want to see an elderly lady in a beige twinset and pearls nor in an outfit slashed to the waist with a skirt half way up her backside.

I really enjoy Bake Off. Quite like Paul and Mary, but I am sick and tired of Mel and Sue's lewd innuendos. So I am glad they are leaving.

Well the current set up of three rounds is never going to fit into the 45 (if we're lucky) minutes between the ads. There will have to be a voice over in case we don't know what we're watching. Probably bring Steve Jones in to present it - he's been rubbish on Formula 1 so why not? The celebrity specials they are promising next year will be sub Z list "celebrities" and if they aren't doing a new series till 2018 we'll all have forgotten it anyway.

I'm another who is glad that Sue and Mel are bowing out, I'd like to know whether those who find them annoying are in the majority.

How about bringing Nadiya back she would be a good replacement for those two and could provide the vital link between contestants and judges. She would also appreciate how annoying it must be to have someone prattling in your ear when under pressure and at a crucial stage of creating something very complex.