Sandi Toksvig has been “desperate” to leave The Great British Bake Offfor ages, new reports claim.
Earlier this week, the writer announced she has quit the show to focus on other projects and released a statement in which she praised the show and her fellow host Noel Fielding.
“As my waistline will testify, Bake Off is an all-consuming show,” she said, adding: “Spending time with Prue [Leith], Paul [Hollywood] and Noel has been one of the great pleasures of my life.”
According to The Sun, though, Toksvig hasn’t enjoyed her time on the Channel 4 series for a while – so much so that she would reportedly stay in her dressing room in between filming, which is said to have caused tension.
“The only surprise is that she didn’t walk sooner,” a source stated.
The Independent has contacted Toksvig for comment.
Talking about her departure from the series, Director of Programmes at Channel 4, Ian Katz, said: ‘Sandi is a huge part of why Bake Off’s move to Channel 4 has been such a success and we are immensely grateful for her contribution to the show.
“We will miss her warmth and wit, not to mention her endless willingness to be the butt of jokes about being the least tall person in the Bake Off tent.”
Channel 4 is now on the hunt for a new presenter to join Fielding.
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).
