Lord Sugar among celebrities lamenting Great British Bake Off poaching

Former winners and celebrity fans of The Great British Bake Off have shared their views on the flagship BBC programme’s surprise move to Channel 4.

Jo Wheatley, who won in 2011, told BBC News: “My gut feeling was a bit of shock to begin with – ‘oh no how could the Beeb let that go’ – and now I’ve got my head around it I’m a little bit calmer.”

Great British Bake Off winners John Whaite, Joanne Wheatley, Frances Quinn and Edd Kimber (BBC Good Food Magazine)

2012 winner John Waite told ITV News: “Channel 4 are not going to mess around with its format and if they do they’ll be stupid. I think everyone is going to have a very close eye on what they with the show. If they do anything, if they make one wrong step, I think it could be catastrophic. So I’m not concerned, I think it will remain the Bake Off.”

A host of stars also tweeted up a storm:

There's a fine balance in good business practice. Love productions have made a fatal error taking GBBO away from @BBCOne for few extra quid

— Lord Sugar (@Lord_Sugar) September 13, 2016

I feel sorry for the @BBCOne they invested years in making Bake off popular and the greedy disloyal format owner has sold it to Ch4

— Lord Sugar (@Lord_Sugar) September 12, 2016

ð±ðð³ At least I can reassure Mel, Sue, Mary & Paul that @Channel4 is a fabulous place to work, though still think #GBBO belongs at the beeb.

— Kirstie Mary Allsopp (@KirstieMAllsopp) September 12, 2016

Comedian and BBC radio presenter Danny Baker tweeted: “I don’t think channels should buy up other channels programs like swaggering football clubs..”

It great news for bakers who run out of time on #GBBO, as they'll now be able to use Channel 4+1.

— Richard Osman (@richardosman) September 12, 2016

I think we all need a cup of tea and LOTS of cake after hearing this news….sad times. #GBBO https://t.co/0DJflcvaRZ

— Beca Lyne-Pirkis (@BecaMurphLP) September 12, 2016