Great British Bake Off fans were left ‘terrified’ after the show’s hosts posted about presenter Matt Lucas on social media.
The star announced he would be stepping back from the hit baking show to focus on other projects.
Which is sad, sure, but not quite as sad as how fans interpreted his departure – which was that he had died.
Both Noel Fielding and Paul Hollywood shared emotional farewells to Matt on their Instagram pages, but they were so sincere that several people thought they were obituaries.
Both posts were quickly flooded with comments from panicked people.
Paul has since deleted his, and Noel has edited his caption for clarity. Matt Lucas is still very much alive, everyone.
Noel’s post included the touching words: “I will really miss your spark and huge smile in the tent and I will miss your kindness as a person and to all the bakers. I will miss your sense of the absurd and your silliness.
“I will miss all the times the four of us giggled together. I will miss your ability to turn into a fully formed character at the drop of a hat. I will miss you pretending to be Boris Johnson singing David Bowie songs and i will miss your upbeat nature and positive vibes. “
One person commented to Noel: “this terrified me i thought he was dead.”
Another said: “NOT ME THINKING HE DIED OMFG MY HEART DROPPED”
Someone else wrote: “Oh no!! RIP” before noticing that he was alive and well and adding: “oh nvm he’s fine loll.”
“Thank goodness I read Matt’s post before reading this one, so had context!!!” said another person.
One user commented: “these all look like death announcements.”
Another said: “Not me thinking Matt Lucas was dead. Jesus Christ Noel.”
Matt Lucas is leaving the Great British Bakeoff. Credit: Instagram, @paul.hollywood
And someone else wrote: “This photo is a lot less “matt died” energy than P Hollywood’s. Good lord he scared me.”
On Paul’s post, one person said: “Thank you for deleting the post that made it seem like he was dead.”
Someone else clarified: “He’s not dead everyone he just quit the show!!”
On his departure, Matt wrote: “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.”
Matt Lucas’s replacement on the Great British Bake Off hasn’t yet been announced.
He has co-presented alongside Noel Fielding since 2020, when Sandi Toksvig stepped back.
Before then, the competition aired on the BBC and was presented by Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.
Featured image: Channel 4
TV & Showbiz
Streamer AngryGinge ‘arrested and banned’ from Silvestone at the British GP
Danny Jones
Popular Manc influencer, ‘AngryGinge’, was arrested, fined and ultimately banned from Silverstone at this year’s British GP.
The Salford-born Twitch streamer, YouTuber and social media personality (real name Morgan Burtwhistle) was detained at the circuit after being arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.
Ginge recently starred in Soccer Aid 2025 and is a well-known face both on the internet and in the sporting world, regularly working in and around football, and is an avid Manchester United – even featuring in the club’s third kit launch video last year.
The 23-year-old and two other fellow streamers, ‘Chazza’ and ‘Samham’, were accused of criminal damage after sitting in an F1 car whilst recording around the Silverstone complex.
AngryGinge returned to streaming after being detained by police for 15 hours
The streamer and several friends were arrested for climbing into a display F1 car at the British Grand Prix pic.twitter.com/WDSYb6MVtj
“On Friday, July 4, NP received a report that a classic Formula 1 car on display at Silverstone Circuit during the British Grand Prix event had sustained several thousands of pounds worth of damage, which was alleged to have been caused by someone accessing the display stand and climbing into the vehicle.
“Officers carried out initial inquiries, and suspects were identified. Three men, aged 23, 25 and 27, were arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage to a vehicle and taken into police custody.
“Following a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the incident, all three men were released with no further action.”
Burtwhistle went into more detail on the incident on socials, explaining that the trio were taken away in handcuffs and “locked up” for several hours – 15 hours, according to SamHam (Samuel Imie).
All three individuals deny causing any damage to the racecar, even despite users sharing clips from the livestream footage captured for the Red Bull online Content on the day that many argue incriminates them, or at least sounds like it – we’ll let you watch and decide for yourselves.
Ginge himself went on to detail that ridculousness of the situation, explaining how he was effectively detained for watching someone else climb into the vehicle.
He’ll be dining out in this one for some time, you can be sure of that.
He’s literally a brands dream isn’t he 😂 so quick and smart with it
Featured Images — Soccer Aid/angryginge13 (screenshot via Twitch)/Samham (via X)
TV & Showbiz
Liam is paying a subtle nod to another member of the Gallagher family in the Oasis reunion set
Danny Jones
In yet another cute and rather unexpected moment about the Oasis reunion set during the first two nights in Cardiff, Liam Gallagher paid a lovely tribute to an unsung member of the musical family: his adopted dog, Buttons.
Because rock stars do whatever they want.
That’s right, while most people were understandably keeping their eyes firmly fixed on Liam and Noel as they still try and get to grips with the fact that they’re both actually there, on stage, in the flesh, other eagle-eyed viewers noticed a subtle nod playing on the massive telly behind them.
Flashing up right in the middle big screen was a technicolour image of none other than Buttons himself, whose adorable little face appeared during ‘Roll With It’ on night one at the Principality Stadium.
I’ll share more of Buttons story today on my insta for the day that’s in it…https://t.co/B8ruKgLn4p
This video from Niall Harbison – the person who was responsible for putting the two together in the first place – was likely something the animal rescuer was made aware of ahead of time, but it’s nevertheless still a very lovely touch.
For anyone unfamiliar with the full story, Niall has spent years saving dogs and other pets from poverty and the street over in Thailand, and one of those was Buttons.
During a visit from Liam and partner Debbie Gwyther (also his manager), the pair ended up being introduced to the pup and instantly fell in love.
Arranging to have what would soon be his favourite pet shipped over to the UK, he and LG have now been pretty much inseparable since September 2023.
This isn’t the only touching gesture seen so far on the Live ’25 tour:
Buttons the dog wasn’t the only soul that Oasis paid tribute to.
The Burnage boys’ comeback was always going to be unforgettable, even if they just got up there and did little more than play the songs, but it’s extra touches like these that are helping make the memories even more special.
In the case of Niall, regardless of whether he knew this was going to happen or not, it must have been an incredible feeling to see one of the countless street dogs he’s saved, not only now rehomed and happy but quite literally getting his own moment in the spotlight.
There were a lot of little details we noticed on night one of Live ’25 in Cardiff, and who knows how many of them will remain in the set for the rest of the reunion tour, but it’s great to see Oasis being reactive and the crew going the extra mile.
'I Hope, I Think, I KNOW' #Oasis Manchester homecoming is going to be nothing short of a religious experience. 🙏
Daisy Jackson -
7th December 2022 
