leaving the tent

Matt Lucas Says He’s Too Busy to Keep Co-hosting The Great British Bake Off

Photo: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images

The Great British Bake Off’s latest showstopper is Matt Lucas — in that he’s stopping the show. But no, it’s not because of the Mexican Week jokes. “It’s been a delicious experience and I can’t imagine a more fun way of spending my summers, but it’s become clear to me that I can’t present both Fantasy Football League and Bake Off alongside all my other projects,” Lucas tweeted. “So, after three series and 51 episodes, I am cheerfully passing the baguette on to someone else.”

GBBO (for some reason also known in the States as The Great British Baking Show) has had several different hosts leave over the past few years, including Sue Perkins, Mel Giedroyc, and Sandi Toksvig. During Lucas’s tenure, he was paired with Noel Fielding, who appears to still be committed to the tent. “I will miss your spark in the tent and I will miss you channeling other characters at the drop of a hat like your brilliant Boris Johnson,” Fielding wrote in an Instagram comment reacting to his co-host’s departure. “I will miss your big smile and your sense of fun and silliness.” After judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith also shared their well wishes on social media, Lucas tweeted that he will miss dancing with Dame Prue in the makeup trailer. Oh, and he hopes Pauly will “find someone else’s nipples to twist.” Future bakers, beware?

Matt Lucas Says He’s Too Busy for The Great British Bake Off