GBBO could collapse quicker than a gingerbread church

Just like the Beeb, Bake Off is an institution. They are quintessentially British and belong together like bacon and eggs.

Moving it to Channel Four is a half-baked idea. Why spoil what is a hugely popular and iconic show?

Execs at C4 must be licking their lips like cats who got all the cream, knowing they’ve got hold of a jewel in the BBC’s crown – even if they’ve only signed up one judge and no presenters.

I think it all seems to be about the greed of GBBO’s makers Love Productions, who could have accepted the BBC’s offer of double of what it was already paying.

Instead they sold out for much more, but I think they may have shot themselves in the cherry bakewells. Because without the key ingredients, ie Mel and Sue and Mary, who viewers adore, the programme could collapse more swiftly than ex-contestant Louise’s gingerbread church .

Mel and Sue said they ‘are not going with the dough’ and good for them to leave on a high with dignity and grace, following their hearts not their purses.

Frankly, I’m not surprised that the saintly Mary quickly followed suit and declared that she would not be staying with a C4 version of GBBO ‘out of loyalty’ to the Beeb.

Only Paul Hollywood remains, signing a three-year deal and no doubt being rewarded with a not insignificant amount of bread.

So what will happen to GBBO now?

Now that C4 has got its grubby little mitts on the show, it surely won’t be long until the producers have the contestants appearing naked beneath their cotton pinnies. I can imagine Hollywood spouting innuendo such as ‘you’re baps are underproved’.

Seriously though, I like to think that C4 could rise to the challenge. But I fear that its efforts will not match up to the BBC version. It really needs to pull out all the stops to make the next series a real humdinger and enlist the likes of Jamie Oliver and French and Saunders.

Now that would be the icing on the cake.

I LOVE BRIDGET - AND THE NEW MOVIE IS A REAL BUNDLE OF JOY

We all enjoy a good love story, especially an old romantic like me.

That’s why I couldn’t wait to see the film Bridget Jones’s Baby.

I can’t lie. I went into this movie with low expectations – after all, it’s been 15 years since the first Bridget movie and much can change.

As it turned out, it was so utterly blissful that I could have quite happily turned around, gone back into the cinema and watched it again.

Bridget is a ditzy, totally relatable character who handles the world with a fumbling sort of good-natured grace.

It’s so nice to see Renee Zellweger returning to one of her best roles – and there’s the added bonus of the fanciable Colin Firth and Patrick Dempsey. Go see it – it’s a bundle of joy!

BUY MY CAKES AND YOU’LL HELP TO RAISE FUNDS FOR MACMILLAN

After the success of last year’s Macmillan coffee morning, staff at Ferneham Hall in Fareham have decided to do it all again this coming Friday, from 10am to 2pm.

I believe that no-one should face cancer alone and Macmillan Cancer Support is so important, helping people affected by cancer and their families and friends all over the UK.

We raised a fair bit last year, but this time we really want to raise the bar.

The Mayor of Fareham, Councillor Connie Hockley, will be attending this special event and it will be lots of fun with games and a raffle as well as an assortment of scrumptious cakes on offer, including a few baked by me.

Please support this very worthy cause.

Hope to see you there.