to be seriously considering giving up on GBBO?

[FancyPantSusan]

I've always been a devoted GBBO fan.

However, I'm really struggling to cope with the C4 version.

I absolutely hate the adverts and I don't think the programme is gripping enough to cope with adverts. I find myself chatting with DH during the adverts then carrying on our conversation over the top of GBBO when it comes back on. When it was on BBC with no adverts, me and DH never uttered a word

I find Noel Fielding very tiresome. He's just not particularly funny and his childish "I have no idea what baking is, I'm just going to stand near you and make jokes" interactions with the contestants I'm finding quite hard to put up with. Having said that, I always found Sue Perkins to be a bit of a knob so I guess I can't be too harsh on Noel.

I'm also finding this year's crop of contestants very challenging. It seems to be edging towards a typical C4 "personality parade" and I can't help but feel that some people are putting on a bit of a show for the cameras. We have:
Kim Joy's "Oh I'm so crazy and whacky but also a little bit adorable";
Ruby's "I'm completely gorgeous look at my pout. Oh a little swear word slipped out accidentally on purpose. Aren't I naughty and foul mouthed and hilarious";
Jon's "Look at my loud Hawaiian shirt, I'm clearly crazy and a really good laugh. Oh and I love my daughters, aren't I just swell?";
Karen's "I'm also hilarious. I'm an older woman very painfully and performatively not giving a shit. Wasn't it hilarious when I sat shoveling crisps into my gob when everyone else was still cooking that one week? See, told you, hilarious";
Briony's "Oh look, I'm so lovely and mumsy"
Rahul's "I'm still learning lots about the UK and, conveniently, fitting into the cultural stereotype of the acceptable immigrant. I'm very quiet and apologetic and that makes me adorable"

I really need to give up on this programme I think. Who's with me?!

I love the new one as much as the old one but like some previous posters I record it so I can skip the ads.

I'm another who gave up on it when it moved. Cannot stand Prue Leith.

I always think of that Question Time where she came across as a total Tory - no compassion at all. Just selfish. And she went on about how she voted Leave and is pro-Brexit, and someone tried to talk about helping the homeless and she said "oh shut up" or something. Ugh.

I only really watch BBC iplayer and Netflix these days anyway. And occasionally an ITV drama. Haven't watched C4 for ages

I still really like it. The only real difference is the ads and I either record it and watch it or start watching about 15 minutes after the start so I can fast forward the ads.

I like Noel and Sandi just as much as I liked Mel and Sue. I wasn't sure about Prue but now I actually prefer her to Mary.

Every years at least one of the contestants is annoying. I could not stand Ruby or Candice. I am not keen on Manon or Briony but hope, if they stay in, they will grow on me.

I didn't like Kim-Joy at first but now do

I think Noel & Sandy have improved the show immensely, I had my doubts when I heard they were being paired up to host but now it’s like ...... Mel & Sue who ?

The ads aren’t really much of an issue for me and if you watch on All 4 I think you can lose a lot of those ads

Saw this today and chuckled...

www.buzzfeed.com/scottybryan/paul-hollywood-handshakes-too-many

I really wanted to hate it but I actually think it's better on C4. LOVE Noel.

Just pause it at the start for a few mins then FF the ads. Doh!

The problem for me isn’t the new presenters/judge or even the advert breaks. It’s the fact the bakes are so difficult and get more so every year. I’ve said this for a few years.

This. It's no longer a credible home baking show. And much less enjoyable for it.

Also Mel and Sue were brilliant and I still miss them

I've given up, too, for much the same reasons. I like Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig, but they aren't right for this programme. I tolerated Hollywood for Mary Berry, but Prue Leith does not have the same effect.

It’s the fact the bakes are so difficult and get more so every year. I’ve said this for a few years.

Yes, this bothered me even before the move to C4. Imagine what amazing showshoppers they could produce in the final if they have 2 days? I would much rather see that than watch them struggle to produce something in 4 hours.

Opening humour doesn’t work for me. It’s OK television but nothing special. PH's handshakes now two a penny. So many tasks seem over the top, chosen more for C4 to do it better than the BBC than testing skills. Can never forget that big head PH went bankrupt in 2004 leaving small traders out of pocket and closed down his second business a couple of years ago.

Oh no! I love Noel and Sandy! It's fab. Watch it or don't. It's a TV programme

Yes Mary Berry somehow “tamed” Paul. I like Prue, but I think PH doesn’t, wheareas he respected and was a bit scared of Mary.

I haven't watched GBBO since it left BBC, I point blank refuse.

I used to really enjoy it, and look forward to catching up on it on my days off. I still do but more out of habit. I don't think Noel or Sandi are particularly comfortable or good. And they don't have the warmth with the contestants. I miss Mel and Sue. I think Prue is fine - maybe better than Mary Berry, but not so kind. And I was never fussed by PH.

And the tasks are soooo difficult. Daughter was told to watch bread week as cooking homework - they didn't actually cook anything I would call a bread except the naan.

Rant over . I think the contestants are fine!

I don't know really why people care which channel it is on (apart from the adverts of course)

Its still bake off, the format is mostly the same, so it's on another channel
All this, I'm boycotting it because it's on C4 just seems a bit ridiculous

Can't stand Prue Leith or Sandy Tosvig - she really annoyed me on Time Team too. Paul Hollywood's ego is now the biggest thing in the universe. He wasn't enough to carry the show without Mary Berry so there is no incentive for me to watch it when it's got two other presenters that I loathe and another that just makes me think WTF in any clips of him that I've seen.

Well, all of you hating on GBBO are bonkers!
There, I said it!
Noel Fielding is hilarious, I didn't like Sandy at first but I really like her now, and I actually like these contestants, except for Dan. He is annoying and incredibly self obsessed. I want Rahul to win cos he's a sweetheart, and very, very good. I find the whole comment of him being an "acceptable immigrant" really offensive, has just a genuinely nice guy. If he was English you would say he's a lovely man, why make a point of saying he's an immigrant?!

I will, however, concede on Paul's Ego. Yes, you are right, he's become the Simon Cowell of the baking world. But I would still love a handshake and a hug from him 💖

I still miss Selasi.

Actually it would be good if they had a little more time to do their stuff

But I also think there's a lot of creative cutting when they say 5 minutes left and they haven't even got the cake out of the oven, but judging it has full icing and decoration on it

Agree it’s not what it was, but it had begun to deteriorate while it was still on the BBC. The bakes jumped the shark several series ago when they ran out of technical challenges people had heard of and turned every showstopper into a grand design.

In the first few series I made quite a few of the technical challenges - coffee & walnut cake and sachertorte spring to mind - yet I can’t imagine making spicy pastries. And never in my life will I feel the need to make a biscuit chandelier.

Previous series had WI type bakers, older women who knew their stuff. This year the much maligned (on here) Karen was the only female over 45.

What is a gbbo?

I record it , skip the ads and skip loads of the chat to just see the end results. It is missing the Mel and Sue Banter IMHO.

Not really the same thing but you can watch whole past series of Sky Arts Portrait/Landscape Artist of the Year on sky catch up with Frank Skinner presenting, great gentle tv even if you have no interest in art and the judges are great too.

I loved Bake Off, I remember watching the very first episode and I loved the gentleness of it - it was baking in a tent, with a grandmotherly type and a dollop of good old British innuendo. Buns, soggy bottoms and tarts a go-go!

I'm disappointed by the C4 version, Noel isn't anywhere near as bad as I thought he might be, but he and Sandi jar (and I say that as someone who loves Sandi). Prue's alright, I have a lot of respect for her as a cook, but Paul Hollywood is just beyond the pale. All this 'Paul Hollywood Handshake' is incredibly grating, especially when he says "Oh yes, and Contestant X got a handshake!", like it's something that happened by itself. YOU CHOOSE WHO GETS THEM. It's massively contrived now.

Mind, I lost all respect for him when he gave interviews around the time of the move to C4, basically saying how he'd never been that close to Mary, Sue and Mel anyway. Funny, that's not how it came across in interviews before the move...

I miss the History Bit, I miss decent challenges (it's getting more and more outlandish - biscuit chandeliers and Tudor Week? I ask you.) and I miss Proper Bake Off

I like the mix of contestants this year. Don’t understand how you can’t like and admire Rahul and Kim Joy as they are lovely people and very creative. I don’t find Noel and Sandi funny but they don’t ruin it for me so I am okay with them being in it. I find them slightly less annoying than Mel and Sue actually. I think I prefer Pru to Mary Berry. The only thing that annoys me really is the contestants creations being spoilt by the horrendous heat and temperatures in the tent. They should film it in the Spring, not the Summer to avoid this. And always fast forward the ads so that is not an issue.

the gorgeous Patrick Grant will be back