With the new series of ‘The Great British Bake Off’ just days away, host Sue Perkins has shared her thoughts on why the show is so successful.
More than 13 million of us tuned in to see Nadiya Hussain crowned ‘Bake Off’ champ last year - the largest TV audience of the year - something that Simon Cowell probably wasn’t too pleased about.
And the music mogul could do worse than listening to Sue, especially after viewing figures for the last series of ‘The X Factor’ were the lowest ever.
“It’s not about revenue,” Sue told heat magazine.
“And it’s not about ratings. And it’s not not about the manufacture of the drama. It’s a village fete - it’s the quintessence of everyday British life with everyone being pretty decent and just wanting to make a nice bun.”
So there you go Simon - you just need to change, well, everything about the ‘X Factor’, not that Sue would dream of telling him what to do.
“I’m not knocking Simon Cowell, because he’s a way more successful person than I’ll ever be, but in those shows it’s about people who want to be a star,” she adds.
“People who want fame for its own sake. We’ve just got people who want to be good bakers.”
Meanwhile, this year’s ‘Bake Off’ contestants have been revealed ahead of the seventh series, which kicks off on 24 August.
The 12 amateur bakers include a pastor, a teacher, a hairdresser, a student, a garden designer and a nurse.
Meet Bake Off’s class of 2016 below.