Great British Bake Off: Channel 4 deal ‘could be worth £25m’ but move ‘risks losing presenters’

Judges and hosts of the popular cooking show were not part of the negotiations, BBC confirms

The GBBO team: Mary Berry, Paul Hollywood, Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc (Mark Bourdillon/BBC)

The Great British Bake Off is set to move from BBC One to Channel 4 in a deal that may be worth as much as £25m.

The BBC lost the rights to broadcast the hit culinary show after Love Productions, which makes the programme, reportedly asked for four times the previous amount of money.

A last-ditch meeting on Monday could not save the BBC's partnership with the production company, which also cited concerns over the development of the brand.

According to the Guardian, the BBC offered Love Productions £15m over three years to keep the show, however, the company reportedly believed the programme was worth over £20m.

The paper quotes sources who say that including sponsorship deals the move to Channel 4 could be worth a total of £25m.

In addition, Love Productions is said to have rejected a higher offer from another unnamed broadcaster.

The BBC earlier said it hoped the production company would change its mind and that the “quintessentially BBC” show would remain with the corporation.

The move to Channel 4 may also come at a higher price – the loss of popular judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, along with hosts Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc.

According to the BBC’s David Sillito, the show's presenters had only just been told about the news and negotiations with them had yet to begin.

Mr Hollywood and Ms Berry have both previously expressed their desire to keep the programme on the BBC.

In a statement the BBC said: “We made a very strong offer to keep the show but we are a considerable distance apart on the money. The BBC's resources are not infinite.”

Channel 4 has signed a three-year agreement with Love productions to become the programme’s new home.

“The first Bake Off programming planned to broadcast on Channel 4 will be a celebrity version of the show in 2017, in aid of Stand Up to Cancer,” Channel 4 said in a statement.

The baking show was the most-watched programme of 2015, with 15.1 million people watching Nadiya Hussain claim victory in the sixth series.