Alison Hammond is officially taking over as co-host of the Great British Bake Off after Matt Lucas stepped down from the legendary tent.
The British TV icon will be joining comedian Noel Fielding this summer as another batch of amateur bakers attempt to whip up breads, cakes and biscuits, under the steely gaze of judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith.
Alison confirmed the news on her own Instagram this morning, writing: “It’s OFFICIAL!!! It’s happening The Great British Bake off ! Let’s have it ! The cake that is.”
She shared a video of herself interviewing figurines of the new GBBO presenter line-up, joking that her fellow celebrities were ‘speechless’.
She added in the video that she was ‘absolutely thrilled’ and ‘so very excited’ to be joining the hugely popular Channel 4 reality show.
Alison is no stranger to the Bake Off tent – she had her own stab at it back in 2020 when she took part in the celebrity version for Stand Up To Cancer.
During that time, she lost her oven door, made a biscuit police station (sort of…) and generally cackled her way through the whole ordeal.
Alison Hammond on the celebrity version of the Great British Bake Off. Credit: Channel 4
So the news of Alison’s return to the Great British Bake Off has delighted just about everyone, after the co-host spot was left open by Matt Lucas.
Prue Leith wrote: “Huge congratulations Alison, you will be magnificent and I can’t wait for your infectious laugh to be ringing through the tent.”
Former GBBO winner Rahul Mandal said: “How super exciting is that. Congrats. I so want to go back in the tent now, to experience your presence and chemistry with Noel and Paul and Prue.”
Channel 4 posted on Twitter: “This is more exciting than a cream horn for breakfast. Can’t wait to welcome you to the tent.”
Channel 4’s Chief Content Officer, Ian Katz, said: “Alison is much loved, effortlessly funny and the owner of the best laugh in Britain. She was a huge hit when she appeared on Celebrity Bake Off and we’re thrilled to have her back in the tent.”
Featured image: Channel 4
TV & Showbiz
Single Mancs wanted to take part in next series of Married At First Sight UK
Emily Sergeant
Okay, bold question time – would you marry a complete stranger?
If you (somehow) answered yes to that, then you’ll probably be keen to hear that hit Channel 4 reality show, Married at First Sight UK, is currently on the lookout for brave contestants to take part in the next series.
And you’ll probably be even keener to hear that casting directors are urging single Mancs to stick an application in… if they fancy it.
If you haven’t seen Married at First Sight yet, well then firstly, where have you been? And secondly, it’s a dating show like no other that sees singletons marry complete strangers in a social experiment – and it’s undoubtedly binge-worthy and extremely entertaining.
Married at First Sight UK has opened its casting for the next series / Credit: Channel 4
Contestants – who will not have met or had contact with each other until the wedding day – are matched up with their supposed ‘perfect match’, determined by a group of experts who use “scientific matchmaking methods”.
Once the contestants are married off, the camera follows them for five weeks to see whether the new relationship is a success or not.
Calling on singletons to put their faith in the matchmaking service, Channel 4 wrote in the casting announcement on the ‘Take Part’ section of its website: “If you are ready to swipe left to the dating apps and say ‘I do’ at the altar, then our experts are here to help you find the one.”
Channel 4 wants singletons to put their faith in the matchmaking service / Credit: Channel 4
Casting directors say singles of all ages, backgrounds, gender identities, and sexualities are ‘welcome to apply’ for the new series.
Fancy it then?
Applications are currently open for the next series, and to apply to the show, you just need to be over 18 years of age, live in the UK, and feel ready for marriage.
BBC is looking for messy Mancs who need to ‘sort their life out’ to take part in new series
Emily Sergeant
Do you need to sort your life out?
We get that this may sound like a pretty brutal and upfront question to ask, but don’t shoot the messenger, it’s technically the BBC asking it, as producers are currently on the hunt for messy people who could do with ‘sorting their life out’ to take part in the new series of one of its hit TV shows – and they’re encouraging Greater Manchester residents to apply.
While the title of the show may, quite literally, be Sort Your Life Out, we promise it’s not as harsh as it seems, as in reality, it’s just offering you a helping hand to tidy up.
That’s right, if you would you like your home to be totally transformed by none other than Stacey Solomon and her expert team, then through a life-changing declutter, supersize spring clean, and some ingenious carpentry solutions to top things off, you could bring some job back to where you live.
The BBC is looking for messy Mancs who need to ‘sort their life out’ to take part in new series / Credit: BBC | FreerangeStock
Stacey and her expert team of organising fanatics can help you let go of the things you don’t need, and streamline what you do.
Plus they’ll also help to create space-saving storage and put systems in place to save you time and money in the future.
“Whether you have a new baby on the way, want to run a business from home, find it hard to let go of sentimental items or just want to create calm in the chaos, we’d love to hear from you,” producers said in a casting call on the BBC website.
Does this process sounds like something you could benefit from then? Producers of the hit show are looking for families or shared households to take part in a potential future series.
Daisy Jackson -
17th March 2023 
