Comic Relief Bake Off scrapped following furious row

Does the bad news ever stop coming for Bake Off fans?

The last ever BBC series spluttered to an end last week, and now it looks like plans for one last hurrah via a Comic Relief special have been scuppered after an almighty row with the show’s owners, Love Productions.

The Beeb had hoped to reunite Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry for one last time to judge the efforts of 12 assembled celebrities for a charity special – but Love Productions have told them exactly what they can do with that idea.

“We would have loved a Bake Off Comic Relief special,” the BBC said in a statement last night. “But Love Productions refused to make it.

“They have now moved to Channel 4 and are making a charity programme with them – with which we wish them well.”

Hmmm… of course you do, Auntie Beeb.

However, insiders at the show reckon the real reason a Comic Relief special is a non-starter is actually down to the BBC’s dithering. It’s even claimed that Love Productions approached the channel back in June about making a series of four celebrity specials – and didn’t even get a reply. Oops.

A BBC spokesperson blasted the claims, saying: “It is preposterous and nonsense and nothing more than a half-baked accusation to suggest Love were willing to make a Comic Relief special when in fact they refused.

“It’s since become very clear they never had any interest in continuing to make it for the BBC and they are moving to Channel 4. We absolutely wanted to do another series of Comic Relief Bake Off and made that very clear to Love.”

Still, Comic Relief’s loss is Stand Up To Cancer’s gain, with the show’s proud new owners at Channel 4 picking the cancer charity as the new benefactor of a celebtastic version of the show due to air in 2018.

Fans hoping to catch one final glimpse of the original line-up can at least take comfort in the fact that the BBC is putting together not one but TWO Christmas specials to keep us going through the festive season. Hurrah!