The Great British Bake Off has been dealt a blow following the news that Sandi Toksvig has quit the series.
Toksvig, who hosts the show alongside Noel Fielding, jumped on board when the beloved series moved from the BBC to Channel 4 in 2017.
The writer is leaving the show so she can focus on other projects, including new series The Write Offs, which focuses on adult literacy.
Toksvig said: “When stepping down from a job it is quite common for people to say they are doing so in order to spend more time with their family. Unusually, I am departing from the Great British Bake Off so I can spend more time with my other work.”
She continued: “As my waistline will testify, Bake Off is an all-consuming show. Spending time with Prue [Leith], Paul [Hollywood] and Noel has been one of the great pleasures of my life. These are friendships which I know will continue beyond the confines of television.”
She called the show “a wonderful programme, which has already proved it can happily withstand a change of hosting personnel.”
Channel 4 is on the hunt for a new presenter to join Fielding in the Bake Off tent.
Toksvig’s swansong as co-host will arrive with The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer, which begins this spring.
Contestants include Louis Theroux, Alison Hammond and Hollywood actor Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind).
