Mary Berry 'to judge her own rival cooking show with co-hosts Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc'

Mary Berry is set to front her own rival cooking show on the BBC.

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The 81-year-old culinary queen dramatically quit The Great British Bake Off on Thursday, a week after Channel 4 outbid the BBC for the rights to the popular series, out of “loyalty” to the broadcaster, and she’s being lined up for her own programme with Bake Off hosts Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc.

A source told the Daily Mirror: “We’ve got three of the fab four staying with us. We’re thrilled. The chances of us reuniting Mary, Mel and Sue are very high.”

Producers are planning to draft the new format later this year and are hoping their forthcoming series will rival Bake Off.

Paul Hollywood - who worked alongside Mary as a judge on the show for seven years - signed a three-year deal with Channel 4 to stay on Bake Off yesterday, just hours after Mary announced she was departing the show.

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The BBC are said to have their eye on celebrity chef James Martin as Paul’s replacement for their rival cooking show.

Bosses believe he has a huge fan base stemming from his 10 years working on Saturday Kitchen.

Paul has been slammed by some Bake Off fans after quitting the show, but insisted Mary made the “right decision” to walk away from the cooking series when she did.

The 51-year-old baker tweeted: “I’m staying in the tent with the bakers where I belong. I want to thank Mary. I’ll miss her but she has made the right decision for her. (sic).”

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The future of the GBBO has been hanging in the balance since it was revealed Channel 4 had bought the rights to the show for an estimated £75 million last week.

Channel 4 reportedly waded in with the three-year mega money deal after they found out negotiations between the BBC and Love Productions - the makers of the programme - had broken down.

The show’s hosts Sue and Mel announced they would no longer front the show after they found out the BBC had lost its rights to the popular series.