Nigella Lawson has appeared alongside Paul Hollywood, Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding in the first official image for series 17 of The Great British Bake Off following her appointment as Prue Leith's replacement.
The British chef, 66, was brought in to bolster the Channel 4 baking competition after the previous series lost 500,000 viewers. However, her arrival follows claims that she and fellow judge Hollywood have struggled to establish a smooth working relationship behind the scenes.
Reports surfaced last month indicating that Lawson and Hollywood have not hit it off during early preparations, with Lawson reportedly finding Hollywood's habit of arriving at work by helicopter to be a bit gauche.
First photo of the new line-up
Despite the rumours of friction, the new quartet appeared united in the promotional photograph released by the show. The four on-screen figures cosied up together to mark the start of the new era for the long-running competition.
Lawson looked chic in a simple but elegant black dress cinched around the waist. Beside her, presenter Alison Hammond chose a colourful belted dress, while co-host Noel Fielding displayed his signature quirky wardrobe in a skull-print shirt paired with skinny jeans. Hollywood opted for a more conservative outfit featuring a blue shirt and jeans.
The Great British Bake Off is one of British television's most popular reality formats, pitting amateur bakers against each other in a series of technical and creative challenges inside a marquee in the British countryside. Lawson joins the program as it enters its 17th series.
Instagram joke and fan reaction
Before the release of the official cast photo, Lawson and Hollywood had initially appeared to share a warm rapport, delighting fans with a smouldering selfie posted to Instagram in April.
Lawson uploaded the photograph to her 3.1 million followers as a cheeky April Fools' joke. In the picture, Lawson wore a white blazer with smokey eye makeup and loose waves in her hair, while Hollywood, 60, wore a white shirt and black jacket.
The post playfully suggested that their involvement in the baking competition was merely a cover story for a completely different television project.
Lawson wrote in her caption: "AN ANNOUNCEMENT: I know you were lead to believe that I would be joining @paul.hollywood on @britishbakeoff but, as you can clearly see, we are in fact a hard-bitten, seen-it-all detective (PH) and a lugubrious forensic pathologist (NL) solving crimes in the Ruhr Valley." She added: "My hair and make up by @triciamakeupartist; Paul's his own!"
The joke left fans in stitches and prompted a flurry of enthusiastic responses in the comments section. One viewer wrote that a Bake Off based detective show would be the cosy crime event of the century, while another exclaimed, "Fantastic!" A third fan commented, "April 1st? How I wish this was true," and a fourth wrote, "I would watch that!" Another follower simply reacted with three laughing emojis.
History of the Bake Off judging table
The Great British Bake Off first hit television screens in 2010. Master baker Paul Hollywood has served as a judge since the show launched 16 years ago, initially co-judging alongside cookery icon Dame Mary Berry when the series originally aired on the BBC.
The program moved from the BBC to Channel 4 in 2017, at which point Prue Leith joined Hollywood at the judging table following Berry's departure. Leith remained in the role for nine years before announcing her decision to step down.
Channel 4 confirmed in January that Lawson would be taking over from Leith for the upcoming 17th series. Lawson expressed immense enthusiasm about joining the production while acknowledging the significant legacy left by her predecessors.
In an official statement at the time of the announcement, Lawson said: "I'm uncharacteristically rather lost for words right now. Of course it's daunting to be following in the footsteps of Prue Leith and Mary Berry before her, great dames both, but I'm also bubbling with excitement. The Great British Bake Off is more than a television programme, it's a National Treasure - and it's a huge honour to be entrusted with it."
Lawson added: "I'm just thrilled to be joining the team and all the new bakers to come, I wish the marvellous Prue all the best, and am giddily grateful for the opportunity!"
Prue Leith explains her departure
Dame Prue gave her full endorsement to her successor, offering warm words about Lawson's culinary expertise and television persona.
Leith said: "I'm thrilled that Nigella is to experience brilliant Bake Off. She's sassy, fun and she knows her onions - and her croissants, cake and crumble."
Leith later opened up about the reasons behind her exit, explaining in an interview with The Spectator that her decision was driven by a desire to work less and play more.
Leith said: "I have been dithering for years about when to stop judging The Great British Bake Off. When I joined nine years ago, I thought, since I was in my mid-seventies, that I'd be lucky to manage two years. At that age, my mother was deaf as a post and away with the fairies, believing her son was her father and that her cat was the one she'd had 40 years before."
She continued: "But my marbles stayed more or less in place and there seemed no good reason to give up a job I loved. Finally, though, the desire to work less and play more got to me. Bake Off and its offshoots such as The Great American Baking Show and even the Christmas specials are all filmed in the summer, which has meant I could never have a summer holiday."
Filming for series 17 of The Great British Bake Off begins in April, with the new series scheduled to air on Channel 4 later this year.
