The news that Paul Hollywood intends to stay put and judge the next series of ‘Great British Bake Off’ has not gone down well with fans of the show.
On Thursday (22 September) ‘Bake Off’ devotees were still getting over the news that Mary Berry would be stepping down as a judge out of “loyalty to the BBC”, when Paul released a statement about his future on the show.
However, given that both Mary and Mel & Sue have all chosen not to make the move, as they want to stay at the channel they’ve called home for the past seven series, Paul’s decision to jump ship has not been warmly received on social media, with many Twitter users crying “traitor”...
Paul’s official statement has also rubbed a lot of people up the wrong way, most notably due to the fact that Mary is noticeably absent when he reflects on his time on the show.
He says: “I am delighted that I will be continuing as a judge when ‘Bake Off’ moves to Channel 4. I want to thank the BBC and Mel and Sue for making my time in the tent great fun and really rewarding.”
Channel 4 first confirmed that they’d signed a three-series deal with Love Productions and ‘The Great British Bake Off’ last week.
Although it’s not yet known when the eighth series will air, it has been revealed that the show’s run on Channel 4 will kick off with a celebrity special in honour of Stand Up To Cancer in 2017.
She was also named the bookies' favourite, more or less as soon as Mel and Sue announced they were stepping down.
On Twitter, hers is the name we keep seeing crop up time and time again, either from people crying out for her to get the job, or pleading with Channel 4 not to give it to her.
In our opinion, it would be a bit too obvious, though, but we'd definitely be in favour of her forming a new double act with runner-up Tamal, with whom she got along like a house on fire in their days on 'GBBO'.
Like Nadiya, he too has managed to bag himself a career in TV, so we wouldn't be surprised if the offer fell at his feet either.
Julian is the undisputed king of innuendo, and his soft-spoken style lends itself perfectly to the 'Bake Off' tent.
He's also become a dab hand at light entertainment since his 'CBB' days, appearing on the panel of 'Your Face Sounds Familiar', as well as fronting 'Nature Nuts' and appearing on 'Give A Dog A Home'.
Hmmm.... maybe not.
Emma must be so stressed out interviewing the stars of 'Celebrity Big Brother' twice a year that we'd be quite happy for her to land a presenting gig that's a bit more... calming.
