Say it ain’t so.
Sandi Toksvig has announced that she will be stepping down as co-host of the Great British Bake Off.
Appearing on the show alongside Noel Fielding, Toksvig has appeared in 51 showstopping episodes over the past three years.
All pud things come to an end. The upcoming series of The Great Stand Up To Cancer Bake Off will mark the end of Sandi’s magnificent stint as a presenter on the show. We would like to thank her for all the wonderful memories and wish her the very best for the future. #GBBO pic.twitter.com/aEnEu00fqu
— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) January 16, 2020
Posting a statement to social media, it reads:
“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.”
According to Channel 4, Toksvig is leaving to focus on other projects including the upcoming series The Write Offs.
Adding that “Bake Off is an all consuming show”, she later went on to say:
“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.”
https://t.co/UrrKin8a6u pic.twitter.com/LsFDqzoDjs
— Sandi Toksvig (@sanditoksvig) January 16, 2020
Ian Katz, Director of Programmes at Channel 4 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”.
Already on the hunt for her replacement, hopeful candidates must have “experience of mopping up spills and the occasional tear, making tea and keeping the amateur bakers to time.”
Sandi will still appear in The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer this spring.
The Great Stand Up To Cancer Bake Off is back in 2020 and here are the famous faces daring to put their dubious baking skills to the test! #GBBO pic.twitter.com/NzOLI1Fh87
— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) January 7, 2020
(Header image courtesy of @BritishBakeOff)
