A Bake Off copy is off the menu, says new 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 corporation’s new chairman has warned the BBC 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 said he was a fan of the 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.

The former deputy governor of the Bank of England drew parallels with the 2002 sell- off of the Bank’s banknote printing operation.

He said: ‘I led the process of outsourcing the printing works. The Bank of England employed 600 people in their printing works and I took the view that the Bank of England knew very little about printing.’

Sir David also advised former prime minister Margaret Thatcher on the 1984 privatisation of BT.

Yesterday, he stopped short of naming the parts of the BBC which might be put up for sale, but MPs suggested that the corporation’s production arm, which is already being spun off as BBC Studios, could be in the line of fire.

Sir David was a somewhat controversial choice as chairman, given that he effectively designed the job himself.

Before applying for the role, the 67-year-old wrote a government report on the BBC, calling for the BBC Trust to be scrapped and replaced with the unitary board which he will now head.

SPORTS fans may be able to watch more events for free, under plans to redraw the list of so-called ‘crown jewel’ tournaments.

Sir David said he will launch a formal review of these events, which must by law be shown on free-to-air television. He expressed particular dismay over the loss of The Open Championship golf tournament to Sky.

He said: ‘It is a regret that one or two national occasions are not free to view.

‘I think the crown jewels may be somewhat out of date. It is a personal regret to me that the golf Open is not free on the BBC.’