The Great British Baking Show is losing one-half of its hilarious hosts as Matt Lucas exits the fan-favorite baking competition series.
The Channel 4 series, which streams stateside on Netflix, recently released its 13th season, the third in which Lucas appeared alongside longtime host Noel Fielding. Lucas posted a message to fans on Twitter to announce his departure.
“Farewell Bake Off!” Lucas wrote, referring to the show by its British moniker, The Great British Bake Off. “It’s been a delicious experience and I can’t imagine a more fun way to spend my summers, but it’s become clear to me that I can’t present both Fantasy Football League and Bake Off alongside all my other projects. So, after three [seasons] and 51 episodes, I am cheerfully passing the baguette on to someone else.”
The Great British Baking Show (Credit: Netflix)
His statement went on to add, “I would like to give my warmest thanks and gratitude to everyone at Love Productions and Channel 4 and to [Noel], Paul, Dame Prue, the crew, and, of course, the wonderful bakers for welcoming me into the tent. I wish whoever takes over all the very best and I can’t wait to tune into the next series without already knowing who won!”
The comedian first joined The Great British Baking Show in 2020 for Season 11 and went on to feature in Seasons 12 and 13. Alongside Fielding, he’s entertained viewers with banter between judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood. Prior to joining the competition series, Sandi Toksvig held the co-hosting position alongside Fielding.
Prior to Fielding and Toksvig, Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc co-hosted The Great British Baking Show for the first seven seasons. No replacement for Lucas has been announced at this time. As the comedian stated, he’ll continue to work on Fantasy Football League, a series airing on Sky Max in the UK.
The Great British Baking Show, Streaming now, Netflix