THE Great British Bake Off is moving to Channel 4.

We can’t quite believe it.

We are as deflated as Tom’s Yorkshire puddings on Wednesday’s episode.

Indeed, we haven’t been so angry since the last time we slaved over a hot stove only to be rewarded with a soggy bottom.

All the talk suggests the BBC was willing to pay £15 million for the next series of its most popular show – and Channel 4 was happy to gazump that sum by stumping up £25 million.

We get it. How many of us would turn down such a whopping pay day? And business is business.

But GBBO isn’t simply about the bread. Well, it is.

But it’s also about the biscuits and the buns. The cakes and the cookies. Even the batter.

The BBC seems to have conceded defeat. We haven’t.

We may be as flat as a (lacy) pancake – but we won’t take this lying down.

The Great British Bake Off belongs on the Beeb. The two go together like Mel and Sue.

They’re a dream team.

Bake Off on cheeky Channel 4?

For starters, there’s the sheer injustice of it – the Beeb has nurtured GBBO from its obscure days on BBC2, turning it into a cosy, feelgood gem of a show.

Greedy Love Productions might run the show.

Think of Love as the parent and the Beeb the doting gran. And telling gran that she isn’t part of the family any more is wrong.

Love Productions must surely listen to the nation and think again.

Can you imagine Ant without Dec? Morecambe without Wise? Even, for that matter, Mary without Paul?

We know you love Bake Off as much as we do. That’s why we want you to join us in the fight to keep it on the Beeb.

Contracts might have been signed. But contracts have been broken before. Let the BBC’s lawyers fight it out in court.

Do we really want a Bake Off broken up by adverts and without the magic of Mel and Sue? No!

So now it’s up to you – it’s time to let your anger out.

You can start by contacting us. Tweet us or go to our Facebook page. Email us, write to us. Our details are below.

Contact your local MP, your councillor, your minister – call the police (well, actually, don’t to that!).

Do anything you fancy, as long as you get in touch and share your fury.

Or contact the BBC – overwhelm Points Of View with protest! Call 0370 908 3199, or email pov@bbc.co.uk

Channel 4 might be feeling as smug as Louis Walsh when Simon invited him back to The X Factor, and it has produced some great programmes. But also a huge amount of total tosh.

It’s too much of a risk to hand over the nation’s most popular show to this channel that can’t resist shock value.

Just look at Naked Attraction, where the gimmick was, well, no clothes.

According to its website: “Your comments are important to us.”

So let bosses know what you think. The phone number is 0345 076 0191. Or you can write to Channel 4, 124 Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2TX.

You can argue the Great British Bake Off is just a TV show. But to 10 million viewers, it’s an institution.

Let’s keep it where it belongs.

 

Sign the petition here: Keep the Great British Bake Off on the BBC

 

I'm going to guess the answer to this is: Channel 4.

— Graham Kibble-White (@grahamkw) September 15, 2016

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THE Sunday Post took to the streets to ask people what they thought of Bake Off moving to Channel 4.

And the overall impression of viewers’ we spoke to wasn’t very appetising.

Thelma Ogilvie, 61, a volunteer from Partick, Glasgow, said: “It won’t be the same without Mel and Sue- I was so upset when they announced they weren’t moving over to Channel 4. I also won’t like having adverts, that will really spoil the programme for me.”

Steven Price, 47, an accountant from Houston, Renfrewshire, said: “It seems the BBC are losing more and more shows. Budget cuts are affecting the quality of content we get from our license fee.”

Ellen Notman, 21, a student from Dumfries said: “The adverts will be annoying. I might just stop watching the Great British Bake Off, and watch other programmes on the BBC instead.”

Craig Dunn, 51, a technologist from Dunlop, East Ayrshire, said: “It’s really disappointing the show is moving to Channel 4. I’m a big fan of the Bake Off so I was quite unhappy when I heard the news. It’s a big loss to the BBC.”

Jackie McMaster, 49, a care worker from Yorkhill, in Glasgow, said: “I was really sad to hear it’s moving to Channel 4. It all stems from cuts in the BBC and the government’s privatisation programme. The BBC can’t afford the programme anymore because their budgets are being cut from above. It will be rubbish having adverts interrupting the show.”

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Internet users expressed their frustration

It's fine. Nothing will actually happen until Mary Berry triggers Arctic Roll 50. #Breadxit #GBBO

— Claire Davies (@cloudavies) September 12, 2016

Mel and Sue leave. Mary Berry rumoured to be off too.. Channel 4 have spent £25m on a tent, some flour and Paul Hollywood.

MWAHAHAHAHHAHA

— Felicity Morse (@FelicityMorse) September 13, 2016

https://twitter.com/Simon_Pegg/status/775741848451252224

Please sign this petition to get Ainsley Harriott as they presenter of the bake off. https://t.co/4TDxwbKhNc #Ainsley #GBBO

— Daniel John Beasley (@Beaso7) September 16, 2016

Sorry @Channel4, but
Bake-Off without Mel and Sue, and without the BBC platform, is just a piece of burnt toast. Game over. #GBBO

— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) September 13, 2016

About to send my pitch for the #GBBO replacement show to the head of @BBCOne pic.twitter.com/3QBGWWHhQZ

— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) September 14, 2016

BAKE OFF IN BIG MONEY MOVE TO CHANNEL 4#GBBO #MaryBerry #paulhollywood #Newzoids @itv pic.twitter.com/hF1xEJFrGU

— Newzoids (@Newzoids) September 13, 2016

I wouldn't like to be the 'greedy TV bosses' behind the production company who have wrecked #Gbbo with their PremLeague cash demands…

— Paul Waugh (@paulwaugh) September 13, 2016

#gbbo is just going to be Paul Hollywood in a field shouting at some batter in an oven.

— Joanna Bolouri (@scribbles78) September 13, 2016

7 TV Show ideas to should replace “Bake Off” https://t.co/1NPErE091t #GBBO pic.twitter.com/4KQhaEvbAL

— BuzzFeed UK (@BuzzFeedUK) September 14, 2016

Greed is never good. Either with cakes or contracts. #GBBO

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) September 13, 2016

 

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It’s perfect, so why change the recipe? – By Rebecca Moody

IF you asked anyone what programme the BBC was least likely to lose, so many people would have said The Great British Bake Off.

It’s their most popular show.

And I am a big fan.

I love the British countryside, the bunting and the bakes.

I grew up in a small village. Now I live in Maidstone. The show reminds me of fetes, ladies baking cake and happy days of childhood.

My dad used to bake, too. It makes me think of him.

And I think the reason GBBO is so popular is that cakes, fetes and family time are part of our society.

It’s perfect cosy TV. It’s timeless.

And I haven’t even mentioned Mel and Sue, or Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood. They add so much.

Why would Love Productions tamper with a winning recipe?

Does everything have to come down to money?

I knew Mel and Sue wouldn’t move. I’ve loved them for years and know they have integrity.

It just won’t be the same without them.

I do wonder if Love Productions had any idea of the uproar this would cause.

Maybe they thought  it would all be fine, that people wouldn’t be that bothered.

Well, they definitely got that one wrong!

The funny thing is, I don’t even bake.

But there’s something about The Great British Bake Off that draws you in.

I had no idea that the petition would strike such a chord.

In fact, when I launched it I imagined it would just be a talking point among my friends.

I can’t believe the number of people who have signed it. It just shows the love for the programme.

I sort of feel responsible for trying to keep it on the BBC now.

My children Eden, 15, and Zac, 12, love it.

We watch it together – it’s family viewing.

I’ve had many favourite moments over the years, but the best has to be last year when Nadiya won.

When she said she was never going to put boundaries on herself again, never going to say she couldn’t do something again, I was in tears.

That was a perfect Bake Off moment.

A friend of mine pointed out that the BBC paid a fortune to win back Match of the Day in 2003 – £105 million.

But the BBC was backed into a corner.

I don’t blame them.

I just hope the show can stay on the BBC, where it belongs.

Let’s make it happen!

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