Mary Berry is set to front her own rival cooking show on the BBC.
The 81-year-old culinary queen quit the ‘Great British Bake Off’ on Thursday (22.09.16), a week after Channel 4 snatched the rights to the popular series from the BBC, out of "loyalty" to the broadcaster, and now she’s being lined up for her own programme with hosts Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc.
A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "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 ‘GBBO’.
However, they’re on a frantic hunt for a second judge after Paul Hollywood – who worked alongside Mary on the show for seven years – recently agreed to follow ‘GBBO’ to Channel 4.
And they currently have their eye on celebrity chef James Martin as bosses believe he has a huge fan base stemming from his 10 years working on ‘Saturday Kitchen’.
Meanwhile, Paul may have been slammed with backlash since he announced he’d signed a three-year deal with Channel 4 but he has admitted he thinks Mary made the "right decision" to walk away from the cooking series when she did.
The 51-year-old baker said: "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)."
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.
Mary Berry to front rival baking show on BBC
