Matt Lucas Quits ‘Great British Baking Show’ After Three Painfully Annoying Seasons as Host

The Great British Baking Show is going to look a wee bit different next year. Co-host Matt Lucas announced today that he is quitting The Great British Baking Show after three seasons with the beloved show. According to Lucas, he decided to step away from hosting duties after “it’s become clear” that he can’t juggle Bake Off with his duties presenting another British show, Fantasy Football League. Lucas’s departure from the program comes less than a month after the show’s most criticized and controversial season wrapped in mid-November.

When Matt Lucas joined The Great British Baking Show in 2020, it was already a time of upheaval for the show. Noel Fielding’s original co-hosting partner, Sandi Toksvig, had quit the series and the show had to isolate in a bubble at Down Hall in order to safely film the series during the pandemic. Lucas was an odd match for Fielding. If Toksvig and Fielding had a “smart kid/class clown” routine down pat, then Lucas and Fielding were the Mad Hatter and March Hare. Together they brought a lot of mayhem to the tent, though Fielding has matured considerably in the role of presenter over the years. Last season, Lucas addressed the fact that fans and critics (like yours truly) had complained that he and Fielding were “stressing the bakers out” with their chaotic time calls. He did so by making his time calls even more loud and obnoxious in the episode.

However it seems that Lucas’s exit is self-motivated and his split with The Great British Baking Show is completely amicable. It’s also due to scheduling conflicts and nothing so serious as a health issue. Lucas wrote on his Twitter:

“xxx Farewell Bake Off! 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. So, after three series and 51 episodes, I am cheerfully passing the baguette on to someone else. I would like to give my warmest thanks and gratitude to everyone at Love Productions and Channel 4 and to Noelipops, Paul, Dame Prue, the crew and, of course, the wonderful bakers for welcoming me into the tent. I wish whoever takes over all the very best and I can’t wait to tune into the next series without already knowing who won! xxx Matt”

Both Great British Baking Show judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith have tweeted sentimental goodbyes to Lucas. He, in turn, quote-tweeted them with jests about Hollywood twisting Lucas’s nipples and dancing with Leith in the make-up trailer.

It’s unclear who Love Productions will enlist to take over for Lucas next season or if there are still additional cast shake-ups to come. This past season was beset with blowback thanks to the horrors of “Mexican Week” and an overall disappointing finale. Will Lucas’s exit offer The Great British Baking Show an opportunity to regroup for the next season? Or will the show continue to careen into the abyss of irrelevance?

All I know is Matt Lucas is done haunting The Great British Baking Show tent with his annoying time calls. I can rest easily now. At least until Love Productions hires someone potentially even worse for the gig.