BBC brands Channel 4 ‘cynical’ after broadcaster ‘schedules Bake Off series to clash’ with new cooking show

The broadcaster has moved its the Big Family Cooking Showdown so as to avoid a ratings war
C4's new GBBO line-up: The new line-up, featuring Paul Hollywood, Sandi Toksvig, Noel Fielding, and Prue Leith
Channel 4

The BBC has branded Channel 4 ‘cynical’ after it was announced that the new series of the Great British Bake Off would air on Tuesday nights.

The scheduling would have caused a clash with the broadcaster’s new show, the Big Family Cooking Showdown.

The BBC made the decision to move the programme, which stars 2015 Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain as the presenter, to Thursday evenings so as to avoid splitting the audience.

A spokesperson for the BBC criticised the rival broadcaster’s scheduling choice, branding it a ‘cynical move’.

"Channel 4's decision to move Bake Off from its long-term traditional Wednesday slot will be a surprise to many viewers who may see this as a cynical move," they said.

"We never intended for our new cookery show to clash with theirs.

"There is room for both and we don't, in this instance, see any public value in two public service broadcasters going head to head in this way."

But Channel 4 hit back against claims that the decision had been made deliberately so as to clash with the BBC’s new series.

A statement read: "We made the decision about where to schedule The Great British Bake Off a few months after acquiring it and we haven't moved it since then.

Candice Brown: BBC'S Final Great British Bake Off Winner

1/12

"It is in the original Tuesday evening slot where the majority of past series have played."

GBBO had aired on Tuesdays for its first three series on the BBC from 2010-2013 but was moved to Wednesday nights for its final three runs.

The broadcaster lost the baking show to Channel 4 last year following a bidding war which saw the BBC out-priced.

Presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, along with judge Mary Berry, declined to make the move to the rival channel and opted to leave the show.

Only judge Paul Hollywood remains from the original line-up and will be joined by Prue Leith on the panel with Sandi Toksvig and Noel Fielding presenting.

Earlier this month Channel 4 released a trailer for the new series of GBBO featuring a surrealist choir of cakes and pastries singing Paul McCartney and the Frog Choir’s We All Stand Together.

The new series of the Great British Bake Off begins on Tuesday, August 29 at 9pm on Channel 4, while the Big Family Cooking Showdown will move to air on Thursdays at 8pm on BBC Two.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in