Mary Berry is to be axed from The Great British Bake Off after this season following the show’s surprise move to Channel 4.
It is thought that she will be replaced by model and actress Kelly Brook, while Will.I.Am will take the place of Paul Hollywood. In a widely welcomed move, Mel and Sue will be replaced with just Mel.
The show’s production company Love Productions announced this week that it had failed to extract a sufficiently exorbitant amount of money from the embattled BBC, and would be moving next year.
Bake Off is likely to relocate from its current Wednesday evening slot to Saturday prime time, while the low budget setting of a marquee in the grounds of a country estate will be dropped in favour of a studio with IMAX sound system, seating for five thousand, and a bulletproof solid chrome judging chamber.
Although baking will still form a proportion of the show’s content, the signature bake segment will be jettisoned in favour of a 15 minute infomercial for private health insurance.
The technical challenge, meanwhile, will be dropped to make way for a competitive powerballad medley, after which one contestant will be eliminated by public vote unless they agree to remove their clothes and eat a live tarantula.
The eighth season of Bake Off will air in August 2017.
Master Heywood 