Sue Perkins: ‘I nearly turned down ‘Great British Bake Off”
By Nick Levine
Sue Perkins has revealed that she initially turned down the chance to present Great British Bake Off.
Perkins, who has hosted the BBC’s hit cookery contest alongside Mel Giedroyc since it began in 2010, was skeptical about whether the show’s mix of stiff peaks and soggy bottoms would appeal to viewers.
Speaking on The Jonathan Ross Show tonight (March 8), she recalls: “They said, ‘Would you do it?’ and I said, ‘No, it’s about cakes, don’t be silly.'”
Continuing, Perkins admits that she is glad she changed her mind, saying: “I can’t tell you how joyous it is. I’m the luckiest person alive.”
During the interview, Perkins also reveals that she and Mel Giedroyc have turned Bake Off‘s matriarch Mary Berry into a fan of The Jeremy Kyle Show.
“Mary loves Jeremy Kyle. We’ve got her into Jeremy Kyle,” Perkins says. “Mary says, ‘This is extraordinary. Absolutely marvellous’.
“Then after a while you go, ‘It is real’. [and Mary replies,] ‘Is it really?'”
The Jonathan Ross Show with Sue Perkins, Richard Branson and Jennifer Hudson airs tonight (March 8) at 9.20pm on ITV.
> Click here to read our latest column from ‘Great British Bake Off’ champion John Whaite