Sandi Toksvig has made a blunt admission about no longer being friends with her former Great British Bake Off co-host Noel Fielding, which might take fans by surprise.
Over the past 14 years, the baking competition has been beloved as one of the most heartwarming shows on TV by fans across the globe.
Having moved from the BBC to Channel 4 in 2017, the series has been fronted by several presenters since the start, beginning with Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins from 2010 until 2016.
When the programme changed channels, the hosts were replaced by Sandi and Noel, who worked together to provide light-hearted amusement for viewers and support for the bakers in the tent for three years.
Then in 2020, Sandi quit her role and was replaced by Matt Lucas, before Alison Hammond subsequently took over from the Little Britain comedian last year.
In a new interview, Sandi, 66, has revealed where she stands when it comes to her friendships with her former Bake Off co-stars, including Noel, 51 and judges Paul Hollywood, 58, and Dame Prue Leith, 84.
Speaking to The Times, the comedian described her time on the series as ‘three of the longest years of my life’.
When asked if she was still friends with her former co-stars, she responded: ‘Prue and I are joined at the hip.’
Referencing Paul, she continued: ‘Not so much. He’s so busy. He drives cars so fast it’s impossible to catch him.’
And then, when asked if she was still friends with Noel, she replied curtly: ‘No.’
When it was announced that Sandi had decided to leave Bake Off four years ago, she hailed her friendships with the judges and her co-host, and shared her belief that they would continue being close outside of work.
‘Spending time with Prue, Paul and Noel has been one of the great pleasures of my life,’ the star continued. ‘These are friendships which I know will continue beyond the confines of television,’ she said in a statement at the time.
‘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.’
In response to Sandi’s departure, Dame Prue pledged that they would be ‘lifelong friends’.
Noel shared a heartfelt post for Sandi when she stepped down from Bake Off in January 2020, writing in his caption: ‘I feel like Tom without Jerry ! Mick without Keef !
‘I’m gonna miss you Sandi and our strange and magical double act. it’s been a joy to hang out and muck about in the Tent with you. thank you for 3 wonderful years ! You will always be my favourite Ewok Viking ! x x x x x x x x.’
In the interview with The Times, Sandi opened up about her reasons for leaving Bake Off, admitting that she ‘walked away from the biggest paycheque of my life’.
‘I’d never watched it. I still haven’t watched it. I didn’t understand it. Cakes are readily available in the shops. I didn’t enjoy the process. You stand at the end of a long table for hours when Prue and Paul taste everything and we literally didn’t speak or taste anything,’ she stated.
‘I used to say, “Can we not sit down? I’m not contributing,” but no.’
Sandi recalled how her wife Debbie Toksvig encouraged her to leave the role as it wasn’t making her happy.
Metro.co.uk has contacted Noel Fielding’s representatives for comment.
The Great British Bake Off is airing on Tuesdays at 8pm on Channel 4.
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