Former ‘Great British Bake Off’ Co-Host Sandi Toksvig Dishes On Her 2020 Exit: “Three Of The Longest Years Of My Life”

The flour may have settled on Sandi Toksvig ‘s Great British Bake Off tenure, but the former co-host is dishing on her departure.

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In a recent interview with The Times , Toksvig described her run on the hit baking reality show as “three of the longest years of [her] life,” ultimately admitting that the co-hosting gig was “not for [her].”

“I walked away from the biggest paycheck of my life, but that’s fine,” she admitted.

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Toksvig co-hosted alongside Noel Fielding from 2017 until 2020, when she announced her exit , clarifying in a statement at the time that she was leaving the show so she could “spend more time with [her] other work.” Matt Lucas replaced Toksvig, but eventually quit in 2022, making way for Alison Hammond to take over the post in 2023.

“I’d never watched it. I still haven’t watched it,” Toksvig said of the show. “I didn’t understand it. Cakes are readily available in the shops. I didn’t enjoy the process. You stand at the end of a long table for hours when [judges] Prue [Leith] and Paul [Hollywood] taste everything and we literally didn’t speak or taste anything. I used to say, ‘Can we not sit down? I’m not contributing,’ but no.”

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When asked if she liked trying the baked goods once cameras cut, she conceded, “Not really,” claiming that her “thing is cheese.” While she said she has not kept in contact with Fielding and Hollywood, teasing that the latter is “so busy” and “drives cars so fast it’s impossible to catch him,” she said she still has a friend in Leith.

“Prue and I are joined at the hip,” she noted

The next episode of The Great British Baking Show Season 12 hits Netflix on Friday, Oct. 11.

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