BBC hit out at Channel 4 after they change 'traditional' Great British Bake Off time slot

The BBC were seemingly unable to mask their feelings towards Channel 4 after it was revealed that the station have decided to change the Great British Bake Off’s regular time slot after acquiring the popular show last year.

There was huge controversy when it was announced that Bake Off would be moving from its BBC home, with Channel 4 splashing a staggering £75million for the format, which is owned by Love Productions.

Hosts Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, as well as judge Mary Berry, walked away from the show out of loyalty to the BBC, with judge Paul Hollywood moving to Channel 4 with Prue Leith joining as judge and Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig as the show’s presenters.

Now it has been confirmed that these aren’t the only changes to have been made to GBBO, with Channel 4 opting to forgo the programme’s traditional Wednesday evening slot in favour of a Tuesday night, clashing with the BBC’s new show, The Big Family Cooking Showdown.

The BBC have since released a strongly-worded statement about the clash, dubbing Channel 4’s decision to move Bake Off from Wednesday nights a “cynical move”.

They also revealed that they will be moving Cooking Showdown in order to avoid a clash.

The statement read: “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.

“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.

“We will therefore move our show to Thursday in the best interest of viewers to avoid such a clash.”

A Channel 4 spokesperson defended their decision, saying: “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.”

Channel 4’s The Great British Bake Off will hit our screens on Tuesday 29th August.

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Read more:

[ Sue Perkins throws shade at Bake Off as she reunites with Mary Berry ]

[ French and Saunders ‘turned down seven figure sum’ to present Bake Off on Channel 4 ]

[ Mary Berry refused to even meet with Channel 4 bosses ]