New GBBO presenters spark lively debate among the cake-noscenti

As the new line-up for the Great British Bake Off is announced, Caroline Lindsay looks at what has already proved to be a controversial new presenting team

It’s a well-known fact that you should never change a tried and trusted recipe.

However, as the new line-up for The Great British Bake-Off is revealed, it seems the show has decided to alter its ingredients somewhat.

TV chef Prue Leith was already confirmed as Mary Berry’s replacement alongside Paul Hollywood when the baking programme moves to Channel 4 after six years at the BBC.

And now it has been revealed presenter Sandi Toksvig and quirky comedian Noel Fielding will host the new-look series, previously one of the corporation’s flagship shows and a ratings giant.

The appointment of Fielding, a close friend of Russell Brand, has provoked controversy and puzzlement in some quarters of the tabloid press and on Twitter as well.

Gary Bainbridge said: “This all started with Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary and Noel Fielding getting Bake-off. Now anybody can do anything. All bets are off.”

Cassie Lovell added: “Just died a little inside hearing Noel fielding is one of the new #GBBO presenters.”

Amy Hartman said replacing Mary Berry, Mel and Sue with Prue Leith, Sandi Toksvig and Noel Fielding is “just as bad as going from Obama to Trump”.

And Andy Goulding summed it up succinctly: “Channel 4, go home, you’re drunk!”

Fielding, the star of surreal comedy show The Mighty Boosh, admitted in a newspaper interview eight years ago that he had tried several kinds of drugs including cocaine and ketamine.

However, plenty of others have leapt to the defence of the new team – and the comedian in particular.

Former contestant Selasi Gbormittah said Fielding will make an ideal addition to the tent to calm the nerves of contestants.

“He is very funny and it’s what new bakers need in the tent. I’m very excited about it,” he said, before adding that Fielding and Toksvig would “ace” the job.

Paul Hollywood, the only member of the original Bake Off line-up to move to Channel 4, added: “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,” he enthused.

Last year’s Bake Off finalist Jane Beedle is also optimistic: “As long as they keep the format of the show and their love for the bakers, it will be lovely,” she observed.

And Radio 1’s Nick Grimshaw added: “Bake Off has got to be the same in terms of the show – people baking in a tent – so what they can do is make it mad.

“We love Noel Fielding because he is very funny and very weird but he isn’t nasty... his brain is out there.”

The new series of The Great British Bake Off will begin in the summer on Channel 4.

Pictures: Getty/PA. The choice of Noel Fielding, left and Sandi Toksvig, above as new hosts for Channel 4’s version of Great British Bake Off has certainly got people talking.