I can’t wait to get my teeth into Bake Off, says new host Matt
NEW Bake Off host Matt Lucas says he can’t wait to get his laughing gear round the contestants’ treats, but has no idea how he will get on with co-presenter Noel Fielding.
The comic revealed the pair have no prepared script for the Channel 4 show because he wants their banter to be spontaneous.
Matt, 46, said: “We were going to be filming the show right now but obviously we are following government [Covid-19] guidelines and we will go when it is safe to go and then I guess I will find out.
“I had an audition with him, a screen test, but that was all really.We have chatted on the phone. But I think one has to be relatively spontaneous really and respond to what is going on in the room.
“So there is nothing being planned from my point of view.”
Matt is replacing Bake Off host Sandi Toksvig and will join Noel and the judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood on the competition.
True to his Little Britain character, rotund “Oooh I love a bit of cake!” slimming club boss Marjorie Dawes, Matt is determined to tuck in to the Bake Off treats. But he is steering clear of cheese dishes in the savoury section because of allergies.
Matt said: “I am going to dive into those cakes... physically dive into them. When I watch it at home they are just so delicious.
“When somebody asked do you want to co-host it I thought ‘Oh great, I can eat those things I am looking at... those things on TV. Yay, a win for me!’
“The main thing I cannot eat is cheese. I must be on guard.” Matt said of Bake Off: “It is so warm hearted. Also when I watch it I am in awe of the talent of the bakers. They are so creative.”
Meanwhile the comedian is busy weighing up options with former co-star and Britain’s Got Talent judge David Walliams for a planned Little Britain comeback.
Matt says they may make a stage show or return to TV but admits they will face a challenge to adapt some characters to the “woke” era. He said: “We have had conversations with different broadcasters and there may be more Little Britain.
“I don’t know exactly what form, it might be a podcast, stage show or TV. And we would like to find a way of making it work in the modern age, however that is going to be.”
Matt was speaking to BBC Radio about his upcoming Bitch Bitch Bitch podcast where he will speak to three people with the same aspirational job and “hear about the dark side”.