Sandi Toksvig has explained she decided to quit The Great British Bake Off because she had stopped having fun on the show - and felt it was destroying her brain.
The 65-year-old comedian and presenter was a host on the Channel 4 baking show from 2017 until 2019 during seasons eight through ten. She co-presented the show alongside 50-year-old comedian Noel Fielding and was replaced by 49-year-old Matt Lucas once she was gone - only for him to be replaced by 48-year-old Alison Hammond in 2023.
The show is judged by original expert Paul Hollywood, 57, and Prue Leith, 83 - who arrived on the show when season eight in 2017. Fans were distressed when Sandi said she wouldn’t be returning to the series when she announced her resignation via social media in 2020. And now the star has reflected on her time on the show - and her reason for quitting.
And die hard fans of Bake Off - which still continues to pull in roughly five million viewers per week - might be shocked to learn the Danish host had grown weary of the series. And far from holding back on her decision to quit, Sandi says she felt her experience on the show was rotting her brain.
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Opening up to the RadioTimes, she said: “To be honest, I left Bake Off because I stopped having fun. I was literally standing there watching meringues dry and thinking ‘Oh my God, my brain is atrophying’.
“So, after three years, I thought ‘That’ll do; go and do something else!’ I’m in love enough with the business to think ‘OK, that’s a nice pay cheque, but it doesn’t work for me. I’ll move on and do something else.’”
Sandi's new reason for quitting Bake Off is different from the story she told when she originally decided to walk away from the show. The star joked: "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. As my waistline will testify, Bake Off is an all-consuming show."
She then went on to praise her co-stars - and said she hoped the show would continue to thrive without her. She declared: "Spending time with Prue, Paul 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. Bake Off is a wonderful programme which has already proved it can happily withstand a change of hosting personnel. The reason for that, of course, is that the true stars of the show are the bakers themselves. I wish everyone well.”
Bake Off has been renewed for a fifteenth season - which is expected to air later this year, with applications for contestants to enter opening in October last year. The application deadline was at the beginning of January, with successful applicants due to be contacted in early February.
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