Bake Off copy off the menu, says BBC boss

AS far as fans of The Great British Bake Off are concerned, the BBC’s recipe for the show was perfect.

Now the new chairman has warned the corporation not to cook up a ‘copycat’ version.

Sir David Clementi told MPs yesterday he would be ‘disappointed’ if the broadcaster made a show that was ‘absolutely similar’.

The BBC is looking for ways to replace Bake Off, after Channel 4 swooped on the hugely successful cookery series.

The broadcaster reportedly paid £75million for a three-year deal with its maker, Love Productions.

however, it could still end up with an expensive flop on its hands. Only Paul hollywood agreed to join Channel 4, with fellow judge Mary Berry and presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins choosing to remain with the corporation as they can present other programmes.

Yesterday, Sir David, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, said he was a fan of Bake Off, but insisted that, after seven series, the BBC had been right to let it go, as it battled to dramatically cut its costs.

Any new BBC cookery show ‘would need to be a different format,’ he said.

‘To put an absolutely similar programme on would be very disappointing.’

Addressing the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, the Winchester and Oxford-educated financier also hinted that the BBC may have to sell off parts of its empire.

‘The board is bound to look carefully at all the services the BBC provides, to determine what they want to do themselves and what might be outsourced,’ he said.