‘The Great British Bake Off’ moved to Channel 4 because show bosses felt the series was "under threat" at the BBC.
Richard McKerrow – the owner of Love Productions, the company behind the hugely popular programme – insists the switch was to "protect" the series, and denies the reason was "all about" cash.
He told The Sun’s Bizarre TV column: "It was to protect the format for all sorts of reasons. It was not all about money. We felt the format was under threat at the BBC.
"It was not something we wanted to do. It was something we felt impelled to do.
"Channel 4 felt the safest place, as a public-service broadcaster.
"Not that there weren’t a few nervous times in the period post going to C4, but deep down we knew what the format was. It is about the baking and the bakers."
The £75 million move came after the show was watched by 14 million people for its last episode on the Beeb two years ago.
Channel 4 made sure they didn’t make any drastic changes to the format itself, although they did put their mark on the programme.
The major changes mainly came in terms of the on-screen team, with Sandi Toksvig and Noel Fielding stepping in as hosts following Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins’ departure.
Beloved judge Mary Berry was replaced by Prue Leith, who went on to accidentally reveal Sophie Faldo had won last year’s series before the final had aired.
However, there doesn’t appear to be any hard feelings, as Richard added: "I knew it was a mistake, a genuine mistake. Nobody had done anything wrong."
Paul Hollywood remained on the show as a judge following the move to Channel 4.
Bake Off was ‘under threat’ on BBC
