Exclusive
Nadiya Hussain praises ‘unexpected’ new Bake Off host Matt Lucas after criticism
13 October 2020, 09:03
Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain supports Matt Lucas
Nadiya Hussain has said Matt Lucas 'brings something interesting' to the Bake Off tent.
Former Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain has given her verdict on new host Matt Lucas.
Little Britain star Matt replaced Sandi Toksvig for season 11, after she decided to hang up her apron last year.
But the 46-year-old received mixed reviews from fans of the show, with 340 people complaining to Ofcom during his debut after he did an impression of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Speaking to us exclusively at Heart.co.uk, Nadiya, 35, has now defended Channel 4’s decision to hire him alongside Noel Fielding, saying he ‘brings something new’ to the show.
She said: “I think he brings something interesting, I’ve seen snippets of it and he brings something entirely different.
Read More: Bake Off fans divided over 'shocking' biscuit week elimination
“Everyone’s got an opinion on different things and when things change, as humans we’re not very good at change.”
Nadiya added: “It’s lovely they’ve got somebody totally unexpected. Nobody was expecting him to be one of the presenters, so good for him!”
Matt is now working alongside returning judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, as well as co-host Noel.
Meanwhile, Nadiya is currently hosting her very own show on BBC Two, Nadiya Bakes.
The series adds twists to classic bakes including her unusual blueberry scone pizza 'that might just change the way you think about cream teas for ever'.
Opening up about the inspiration behind her unique ideas, the former Bake Off winner told us: “It’s about being a little bit adventurous and throwing away the rule book, who says we can’t have a scone pizza.
“There are times you will be making a pizza and realise you don’t have a cutter and what do you do in that situation? You make a scone pizza.
“That’s perfect for a student or someone who doesn’t have cutters.”
Nadiya ended up filming her cookery show during lockdown, creating a social bubble with her crew and moving away from her family for two weeks.
Nadiya Hussain reveals inspiration behind unusual baking recipes
“We basically live together as one big family,” she told us.
“We still had to socially distance and wear masks, but we managed to film the whole thing in 18 or 19 days so it was surreal and bizarre and wonderful at the same time.
"It was an unusual situation to film a cookery show but I suppose in that moment during lockdown, the fact we were able to put together a show that gives lots of joy to people right now, was pretty special and definitely worth it.”
Nadiya Bakes in on BBC Two every Tuesday at 8:30pm, and her recipe book of the same name is also available to buy now.
