Noel Fielding may have his dedicated fan base of followers, but it appears there’s one famous lady whose radar he had not crossed until last week’s big ‘Great British Bake Off’ announcement.
The show’s former judge, Mary Berry, has confessed that, prior to the news that ‘The Mighty Boosh’ star would be taking his place in the new baking tent on Channel 4, she’d never actually heard of him.
Asked about the prospect of working with him, Mary remarked: “I don’t know him, but I’d take my chances.”
It was announced last week that Noel will be joining Sandi Toksvig as the new hosts of the show, replacing Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins’ decision to quit, following the move from the BBC.
Paul Hollywood is only one of the original quartet to be moving with the show, and he has expressed his delight to be sharing judging duties with longtime cookery writer and broadcaster Prue Leith.
Paul spoke to the ‘Loose Women’ panel about the new signings, saying: “I’m really excited,” and he said of Prue: “She actually reminds me of my mother in law but in a fantastic way.”
While Prue and Sandi’s recruitment seems to have gone down gently in the shires, there has been much kerfuffle over the hiring of Mr Fielding.
Noel is really excited about taking over from Mel and Sue, saying in a statement: “’GBBO’ is one of my favourite shows. I’ve always loved brightly coloured cakes and Sandi Toksvig so this is a dream come true for me! It’s basically the double.”
Sandi is already describing him as a “rather wayward cousin whose take on the world made me laugh”, so we’re looking forward to seeing how their on-screen chemistry develops when ‘Bake Off’ returns later this year.