Former Bake Off host Sandi Toksvig has revealed that she only did the show – which she said bored her senseless – to pay off a massive tax bill.
The 66-year-old was drafted in, along with Noel Fielding, to host the show after it moved from the BBC to Channel 4 in 2017.
But after just three years, the funnywoman – who took over from Stephen Fry as the host of quiz show QI in 2016 – quit the beloved baking show, which at its peak attracted 9m viewers.
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Speaking this week, Sandi – who said it was the ‘biggest pay check of her life’, believed to have been paid between £200,000-£400,000 per series – said the only reason she did the show was to pay a ‘large tax bill’.
(Image: Channel 4)
She said watching meringues dry made her ‘brain atrophy’, and when asked why she did it, she said: “I had a large tax bill. I paid that and then left.
“I don’t regret doing it, of course not, but I don’t, hopefully, ever have to do it again.”
She said: “I think it’s OK to say that and not diss the programme.”
Speaking previously, Sandi said: “I mean no disrespect to people, but watching meringue dry and being told how many different kinds there are, I honestly thought I was going out of my mind.”
When she quit in 2020, she tweeted: “Spending time with Prue, Paul, and Noel has been one of the great pleasures of my life. These are friendships which I know will continue beyond the confines of television.”
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