After three years on the show, Sandi is waving goodbye to the tent
BY SOPHIE GRIFFITHS, IMAGE VIA BBC
It’s a truly sad day. Sandi Toksvig has announced that she will be leaving The Great British Bake Off and our eyes are just as soggy as a bottom during cake week.
The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer will be broadcast in the spring, and that is unfortunately the last time we will see Sandi in the iconic tent.
The presenter stated her reasons for leaving saying she wanted to focus on other work commitments. On Twitter she said: “As my waistline will testify, Bake Off is an all-consuming show.”
It remains unclear whether co-host Noel Fielding will continue presenting the show solo or not at all following her departure. Writing on Twitter, Fielding said he now feels like “Tom without Jerry” and “Mick without a Keef.”
https://t.co/UrrKin8a6u pic.twitter.com/LsFDqzoDjs
— Sandi Toksvig (@sanditoksvig) January 16, 2020
The comical pair took over presenting duties when the show moved to Channel 4 in 2017, following in the footsteps of double-act Mel and Sue.
Channel 4’s director of programmes Ian Katz said: “We are immensely grateful for Sandi’s 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.”
He added that the channel have other shows in development with Toksvig, “none of which involve cake”.
Sandi’s full statement
“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. 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.”
We’re gonna miss you, Sandi. 😢 The Bake Off tent just won’t be the same without you.
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