Where Can I Watch Great British Baking Show Comic Relief
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Comic Relief Bake Off is scrapped as show makers snub BBC charity special ahead of move to Channel 4
The BBC had hoped to reunite Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry for one last time - but Love Productions have said no, and plan to make their own version
Image: BBC)
BBC bosses have been forced to axe a special Comic Relief version of the Great British Bake Off amid a furious row with the show's makers .
The corporation wanted to reunite judges Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry for a final time, along with 12 celebrity contestants, to raise cash for the charity.
But in a snub that will upset the programme's 15 million viewers, Love Productions – which has controversially taken the show to Channel 4 in a £75million deal – said no.
Instead the company will make a charity version of its own when it switches channels, with a new star line-up.
The decision, which sources at Love say is down to the BBC's dithering, has left Beeb bosses seething and comes just weeks after they lost Bake Off.
Tonight the BBC released a statement which showed how relations with Love had hit a new low.
A spokesman said: "We would have loved a Bake Off Comic Relief special, but Love Productions refused to make it.
"They have now moved to Channel 4 and are making a charity programme with them – with which we wish them well."
Meanwhile, we can reveal that Love first contacted the BBC in June when they were thrashing out the show's future. In an email, they asked whether bosses wanted to put together a series of four special Comic Relief episodes, as they have done in previous years
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Image:
BBC)But Love claim they did not receive a reply from Beeb executives.
A Beeb insider raged: "It is preposterous nonsense and nothing more than a half-baked accusation to suggest Love were willing to make a Comic Relief special when in fact they refused."
It is understood that it was a couple of months ago – by which time negotiations over the show's future were breaking down – that the BBC contacted Love to say they wanted to make the charity special. Producers at Love say it is now too late – and that they are making their own version in aid of Stand Up To Cancer.
A source said: "It's very disappointing to lose such a popular element of Comic Relief." The annual charity special has become a popular fixture, with a host of celebs involved, including Abbey Clancy and Gok Wan.
Had next year's special been made, it would have been the final outing for Bake Off on the BBC after Channel 4 bought exclusive rights to the format.
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A record audience of 14.8 million tuned in on Wednesday to watch PE teacher Candice Brown win this year's contest.
This week, BBC bosses confirmed that Bake Off hosts Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins will be the presenters of the talent contest Let's Sing and Dance for Comic Relief, which will air in the run-up to Red Nose Day in March.
Meanwhile Channel 4 is considering stars to front The Great British Bake Off. The show is not expected to be screened until 2018 due to a contractual issue.
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A spokesman for the production company said: "Love Productions was always keen to make the Comic Relief Bake Off special. We had been trying to engage the BBC in negotiations for more than a year so we would have time to produce both series eight of Bake Off and the Comic Relief Bake Off, which should have filmed in September.
"By the time the BBC meaningfully engaged in those negotiations, it was already too late for Love to produce the series for Comic Relief Bake Off in time to air in Spring 2017.
"This was just one of the contributory factors behind the breakdown of negotiations with the BBC."
Where Can I Watch Great British Baking Show Comic Relief
Source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/comic-relief-bake-scrapped-show-9155182