The BBC have been accused of poaching celebrity hosts in a bid to sabotage the other shows created by ‘Great British Bake Off’ producers, Love Productions.
The UK based firm, who are the masterminds behind the popular cooking show, believe the broadcaster deliberately stole Claudia Winkleman – who presented their other series ‘The Great British Sewing Bee’ – for the BBC’s new programme ‘Britain’s Best Cook’ after they decided to cut ties with the channel at the end of last year.
An insider told the Sun newspaper: "The sheer arrogance of it all is astonishing.
"Not only has the BBC effective ripped off Love formats and made their own, they are stonewalling existing shows that have been good for ratings for them.
"’Sewing Bee’ and ‘Pottery Throwdown’ have done well but their hosts have been nicked for other BBC shows. There’s a view in the industry that the BBC is acting out of spite and not in the best interest of the licence fee payer.
"Love are just focused on making the new ‘…Bake Off’ as good as it can be."
However, the BBC – who used to air the ‘Great British Bake Off’ until they lost the contract to Channel 4 – think the claims are absurd as Claudia, who presents on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ alongside Tess Daly, is already an "established BBC talent."
A source explained: "This is odd, as Claudia is established BBC talent and you can’t poach talent and you can’t poach talent you already have.
"On top of that we’ve made a cracking offer for another series of ‘Sewing Bee’.
"Love have a lot riding on moving ‘Bake Off’ and are clearly feeling the heat."
The relationship between the BBC and Love Productions turned sour last September when the latter decided to offer the rights of the baking show to Channel 4.
Love Productions claim BBC stealing talent
