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Matt Lucas Exits ‘Great British Bake Off’: ‘Clear’ He Can No Longer Host

The comedian is “passing the baguette” to someone else.

Great British Bake Off host Matt Lucas can no longer wait for the timer to go off. Instead, the comedian, who leads the show alongside Mighty Boosh creator Noel Fielding, has decided his attention is needed elsewhere. “Farewell Bake Off! It’s been a delicious experience and I can’t imagine a more fun way of spending my summers,” Lucas wrote in a statement on Instagram. “But it’s become clear to me that I can’t present both Fantasy Football League and Bake Off alongside all my other projects.” Lucas spent three seasons and 51 episodes working on Bake Off with Fielding and the show’s judges, original cast member and famed chef Paul Hollywood as well South African restauranteur Dame Prue Leith, but is “cheerfully passing the baguette on to someone else,” he wrote, thanking Channel 4, the crew, and the bakers for spending their time with him. “I wish whoever takes over the very best and I can't wait to tune into the next series without already knowing who won!”