Great British Bake Off fans stage funeral service at BBC HQ

Great British Bake Off fans held a funeral service for the show outside BBC HQ on Thursday.

More than 14 million tuned into Wednesday night’s final to see Candice Brown be crowned the series winner for the last time on the BBC, but the episode was tinged with sadness.

A number of supporters conveyed their disappointment that the programme is heading to Channel 4 next year by turning up to the BBC’s Broadcasting House in central London dressed all in black and complete with Bake Off wreaths and even a hearse.

One of the mourners was London Dungeon’s resident baker Mrs Lovett who was part of the group of upset fans who laid the wreath spelling “RIP GBBO” outside the studios.

The disappointment comes after the Channel 4 outbid the BBC for the rights to air the show from next year.

They are thought to have signed a £75 million, three-year deal with Love Productions, which makes Bake Off.

Following the news earlier this year, co-hosts Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins quit the programme.

Judge Mary Berry followed soon after admitting she was leaving the series “out of loyalty” to the BBC.

But her fellow judge Paul Hollywood went on to sign a three-year deal with Channel 4 to remain on the programme.

He said: “Since I was a kid, baking has been part of my life. The seven series inside the tent have created some great memories.

“Best of all, I have felt so pleased to experience other people getting the baking bug, just as I did when my dad helped me make my first loaf. The ‘Great British Bake Off’ has brought baking to the nation and we’ve seen people from all walks of life and backgrounds, experience the highs and lows of competition, and more importantly helping each other.

“It’s been a huge part of my life in the past few years and I just couldn’t turn my back on all that – the bakers themselves, the bakes, the team that makes it, and of course the tent, the bunting, and who could forget… the squirrels. So I am delighted that I will be continuing as a judge when ‘…Bake Off’ moves to Channel 4.”