The QI host joined the hit baking contest in 2017 after it switched broadcasters, having previously been aired by the BBC, and fronted the show alongside comedian Noel Fielding for three series.
She quit the show in 2019, when she was replaced by comedian Matt Lucas. At the time, Toksvig said she was leaving “to spend more time with my other work”.
As my waistline will testify, Bake Off is an all-consuming show,” she said in her statement.
“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.”
However, in a recent interview with Radio Times, the 65-year-old admitted that she was already growing tired of the show before her departure.
“To be honest, I left Bake Off because I stopped having fun,” she said. “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!’.”
She added: “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’.”
In the same interview, she revealed that she hasn’t been in touch with the Bake Off team since she left, and doesn’t watch the show.
“I don’t like cake,” she admitted. “But if somebody makes The Great British Cheese Off, I’m in.”
Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood, who has been with the show since its inception in 2010, previously confessed he was “surprised” and “really upset” after Toksvig announced her departure.
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However, in a recent interview with Radio Times, the 65-year-old admitted that she was already growing tired of the show before her departure. “To be honest, I left Bake Off because I stopped having fun,” she said. “I was literally standing there watching meringues dry and thinking, 'Oh my god, my brain is atrophying.
On 16 March 2017, she was announced as the new co-presenter of The Great British Bake Off on Channel 4, alongside Noel Fielding. They replaced the previous hosts, Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc. In January 2020, she announced she was leaving the show to focus on other work commitments, and was replaced by Matt Lucas.
Sandi Toksvig has said she stepped down from hosting the Great British Bake Off because she felt her brain was “atrophying”. The 65-year-old comedian and broadcaster began presenting the hit baking show in 2017 alongside Noel Fielding after it moved to Channel 4 from the BBC.
Channel 4 confirmed that Prue would be stepping back from Celebrity Bake Off in a statement provided to The Independent which read: “Prue will be joining Paul as usual to judge The Great British Bake Off but will be stepping back from The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer.” Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson ...
“I speak Danish when I'm in Denmark and English when I'm here, and I don't distinguish between the two, because it was just a natural thing from the moment I was born.
Paul Hollywood's favouritism row. The fourth series of the show in 2013 saw fans levy accusations of favouritism against Paul Hollywood as it was suggested he gave preferential treatment to then 21-year-old contestant Ruby Tandoh due to her looks.
He explained that it had become too much of a struggle juggling his various TV commitments. “Farewell Bake Off!” he wrote in a statement. “It's been a delicious experience and I can't imagine a more fun way of spending my summers.
The 69-year-old Women's Institute member quit the show after losing her sense of smell and taste the night before episode five was filmed. The BBC said Diana's exit this was "not connected in any way" to the Baked Alaska scandal of episode four that viewers witnessed last night.
However, both Thiessen and Hewitt declined the role. Producers then decided to kill off Prue and replace her with a long-lost younger half-sister named Paige Matthews (played by Rose McGowan), in favor of having "a fresh face" join the series.
I leap out, roaring. And as I leap, I feel a hammer blow to my ankle, and end up whimpering like the Cowardly Lion I'm portraying. I have snapped my Achilles tendon.
In 1960, Leith moved to London to attend the Cordon Bleu Cookery School and then began a business supplying high-quality business lunches. This grew to become Leith's Good Food, a party and event caterer. In 1969, she opened Leith's, her Michelin-starred restaurant in Notting Hill, eventually selling it in 1995.
At the time, Toksvig said she was leaving “to spend more time with my other work”. As my waistline will testify, Bake Off is an all-consuming show,” she said in her statement. “Spending time with Prue [Leith], Paul [Hollywood] and Noel has been one of the great pleasures of my life.
Since then, Fielding has worked with three different co-hosts, after Toksvig left at the end of 2019 and was replaced by Matt Lucas, who himself left at the end of 2022, to be replaced by Alison Hammond. Read more: The Traitors' Ash wanted to "murder" Diane but others wouldn't let her.
Lucas said that, after a time, he felt that he wanted to focus more on Fantasy Football League, writing a book and musical, and working on a new TV series with his former Little Britain co-star David Walliams. “It probably utilises what I have better than Bake Off,” he said of Fantasy Football League.
On top of the many strings she has to her bow (as well as presenting the Great British Bake Off, she has been a successful comedian, presenter, writer and political activist for years) it turns out that she has musical talent. Like, literally – musical talent.
The fourteenth series of The Great British Bake Off began on 26 September 2023. In December 2022, Matt Lucas announced his departure from the show after three series as a co-presenter. In March 2023, Alison Hammond was announced as his replacement and joined Noel Fielding as co-host.
Hobby: Web surfing, Skiing, role-playing games, Sketching, Polo, Sewing, Genealogy
Introduction: My name is Maia Crooks Jr, I am a homely, joyous, shiny, successful, hilarious, thoughtful, joyous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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