Prue Leith

10 things you might not know about The Great British Bake Off

Each series sees twelve amateur bakers attempt to out-bake their opponents and impress judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood, with encouragement (/harassment) from the presenters, now comedian Noel Fielding and queen of daytime Alison Hammond.

With one of the highest average audiences of any programme in the UK (in 2016, nine of the top ten most-watched programmes of the year were episodes of the show), Bake Off has become a Great British institution.

Alison Hammond confirmed as the new host of The Great British Bake Off

Alison Hammond with a cake decorated with the judges and hosts

Hammond (This Morning) was a fan favourite when competing on Celebrity Great British Bake Off 2020. She described herself to the judges as a “born baker and a born eater”, making her most likely also a born Bake Off host.

Hammond will be replacing host Matt Lucas who departed from the Bake Off Tent after joining the show in 2020, to dedicate more time to presenting Sky’s Fantasy Football League.

Host Noel Fielding will be joining her in the tent, alongside judges Dame Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood.

Date set for the return of The Great British Bake Off

12 more amateur bakers will enter the tent under the beady eyes of judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood, hoping to win them over and perhaps even receive the honour of a Hollywood handshake. Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding are also back to present and pester the contestants.

The usual schedule sees the field narrowed down to just three bakers by week 10, at which point the finalists will battle it out in the hopes of winning the glass cake stand.

Prue Leith to host new gardening series

Credit: All 4

The four-part series will see Leith trade in cake for compost, as she parts with her home and lovingly manicured garden of nearly 50 years to move in with her husband John Playfair. 

However, she has a two-acre sized problem in the form of the overgrown garden around the new modern barn that she and Playfair have designed. 

Strewn with rubbish, rubble, rusting buildings and overgrown vegetation, there is little of a garden left. 

Prue Leith and Dr Rupy Aujla to Cook Clever and Waste Less in new Channel 4 series

The four-part series will serve up new ideas for meals and reducing food waste, helping our pockets and the planet.

In the UK, the equivalent of 1 in 6 shopping bags or 1 in 8 prepared meals end up in the bin, and most of this waste is destined for landfill or incineration. If this food waste was a country, it would be the third biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Hellmann’s will sponsor the series as part of their mission to enable British households to “make great taste and less waste,” highlighting the simple ways we can all make a difference.

Bake Off host steps down

After three years and 51 showstoppers, Toksvig has decide to step down from The Great British Bake Off to spend more time on different projects, such as her upcoming Channel 4 series The Write Offs.

Toksvig described working on the show with Noel Fielding, Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood as “one of the greatest pleasures of my life”, describing her friendship with them as one that will “continue beyond the confines of television.”