Jo Brand to return as host of Bake Off spinoff as it moves to Channel 4
Jo Brand is to return as host of the Great British Bake Off spinoff An Extra Slice when the show debuts on Channel 4 later this year.
The Brand-fronted programme, which previously aired on BBC2, will stick with the familiar format of celebrity guests discussing that week’s episode of Bake Off and critiquing culinary creations brought in by fans, as well as interviews with each week’s departing contestant and unseen footage.
Brand said: “As a completely mediocre baker myself, but lover of all things spongey and tarty, I am really looking forward to another Extra Slice and all the fun and frolics that brings.
“The next Bake Off series will be a landmark for the much-loved show as it returns with a new lineup of hosts.”
Brand’s continued involvement may be seen as a boost for Channel 4, which failed to retain most of the original Bake Off lineup when it struck a £75m three-year deal with the show’s makers, Love Productions. Presenters Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc said they would not “go with the dough” after the BBC lost the show, and judge Mary Berry has said she was never formally asked to move to Channel 4. All three have been given new shows with the BBC.
Paul Hollywood will be the only member of the original on-screen team to transfer to Channel 4’s Bake Off, which will be fronted by the presenter Sandi Toksvig and the comedian Noel Fielding. The chef and writer Pru Leith will join Hollywood as a judge.
Fan reaction to the new lineup has been mixed, but analysts have suggested that a radical shift is necessary and the introduction of Fielding may help appeal to Channel 4’s younger audience.
Separately, the broadcaster has announced that Hollywood is to get his own show called A Baker’s Life in which viewers will “get to know the real Paul Hollyood”. Love Productions will produce the five hour-long episodes which will see him whipping up new confections and revisiting “recipes that represent pivotal moments in his life”.