Sue Perkins was "devastated" by the way her ‘Great British Bake Off’ stint ended.
The 50-year-old star co-hosted the baking competition with her comedy partner Mel Giedroyc, 51, for six years until its switch from BBC One to Channel 4 in 2016, and she admitted their departure left them feeling "incredibly hurt".
Speaking on Jessie Ware’s ‘Table Manners’ podcast, she said: "When we were there, Paul [Hollywood] was incredibly fun – and then stuff happened that made us incredibly sad and incredibly hurt.
"But he was always like family for years and years, and it’s painful when those things end, especially in the way they did end.
"I’m devastated about what happened, lots of it. I just feel that you become uncool and start pointing the finger and you become as bad as everybody else."
Mel and Sue left alongside judge Mary Berry, while Paul remained on the show following the channel move.
Prue Leith, Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig – who recently quit the show and is to be replaced by Matt Lucas – then all joined the team.
Mel admitted she hasn’t watched the show since they left, but she was proud of they way she and Sue "created the tone".
She added: "I like to think that Perkins and I created the tone for it.
"We wanted to be kind, not sensationalist, we wanted it to be a comforting watch.
"Hopefully we established that and other people do what they want with it. I haven’t seen it."
Sue has high hopes for ‘Little Britain’ star Matt, who will present the next series after Sandi’s exit.
She said: "I think Matt will do an amazing job."
His appointment has gone down well, with new co-star Noel joking they could become a new version of clay characters Chas and Morph.
He recently said: "I love Matt. I love his warmth and his comedy and his big joyful smile. I think if we play our cards right we could become the next Chas and Morph."
Sue Perkins was ‘devastated’ by Great British Bake Off exit
