Great British Buy Off: BBC’S Bake Off will move to Channel 4

THE BIG MOVE: Mel and Sue will ‘not be following the dough’ when the programme moves to Channel 4 (Pic Cred: BBC/Love Productions/Mark Bourdillon)

The Great British Bake Off (GBBO) has announced that it will be moving to Channel 4 after a last-ditch meeting on Monday with the BBC proved the world’s oldest national broadcasting organisation couldn’t afford to keep them on.

 With five million viewers under the age of 34, GBBO will no doubt entice advertisers at its new home which will air the next series in 2017.

The BBC fell £10 million short of the amount of money required to keep the hit baking show.

The corporation is thought to have offered £15m per year to keep the programme on the BBC but Love Productions, who make the show, refused to entertain any offers below £25 million per year.

A spokesman for Channel 4 said: “We have no plans to change the incredibly successful format of the show which is much loved by viewers.”

Richard McKerrow, Love Productions' creative director, said the firm had found ‘the perfect new home for Bake Off’ at Channel 4.

Presenters Mel Perkins and Sue Giedroyc are ‘not following the dough’ and new hosts are to be lined up.

They said in a statement: “We made no secret of our desire for the show to remain where it was... we're not going with the dough.”

GBBO was 2015's most-watched programme, with 15.1 million viewers for the final, according to figures which include catch-up viewing.

Twitter has been in uproar about the move. David Barnes @DRB said: “In its greed, Love Productions has killed its golden goose and left C4 with a turkey.”

Tia ‏@tiaisanoob  said: “First Brexit, now this! I don't want to be British anymore.”

Esme ‏@esmetodd  said: “Mel and Sue dropping out of bake off is the first step towards a ruined show.”

Charlotte Spruzen ‏@_spruzie  said: “Oh dear god, what if Bake Off is on ITV and they replace Mel and Sue with Ant and Dec??? Forget cake, I'd be putting my head in the oven.”

The seventh series is currently being shown on BBC One on Wednesday evenings. Over 10 million viewers tuned in for the opening episode.

The format has been sold to broadcasters around the world, with France, Brazil, Australia, Ukraine, Denmark, India and Turkey all showing their own versions of the show.

Demonstration to be had after attack on Bradford Christian

RECUPERATING: Nissar Hussain, 49, hospitalised with smashed knee-cap and broken arm

Friends of a victim of 10-year long hate crimes are to stage a demonstration in Bradford to pressure police to take action against the perpetrators and to ask the community to respect the human rights of all neighbours.

Nissar Hussain, 49, was hospitalised on 17 November with a smashed kneecap and broken arm after a violent attack which was captured on CCTV.

He said he was attacked because he converted from Islam to Christianity and that his troubles started after he appeared on a Channel 4 documentary on how Islam converts are treated.

This latest attack came at the same time that Muslims across West Yorkshire were raising complaints about intolerance towards them (See related story) and calling for action against Islamophobia.

His friend, Mohammad Fyaz, is organising a demonstration outside of Bradford Town Hall on 5 December to call for Article 18 of the Declaration on Human Rights to be respected and upheld by the community and authorities in Bradford.

That article states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”

Mr Fyaz, himself a convert, said that when a Muslim practices apostasy (the renunciation of one’s religious belief for another) he or she is brought under severe pressure.

“This is wrong and we want a strong declaration by the Bradford community that they would not condone the violence, harassment and pressure that Mr Hussain had been facing.

“They can do this by coming out and joining our demonstration to send a united message to the perpetrators,” he said.

UNACCEPTABLE: Mohammed Fyaz is organising a demonstration in Bradford

“We want Christians, Atheists, Humanist, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and all Nissar’s neighbours to come out, join us in condemning this senseless act. We need to send a message to the perpetrators that this is unacceptable in our British society.”

Calling the attack "one of the most vicious" she'd seen in her constituency, Bradford West MP Naz Shah called for witnesses to come forward. The attack came hours before she chaired the launch of a report around the reporting of religious hate crime.

Ms Shah said what happened to Mr Hussain on his own door step was unacceptable and had no place in Bradford and the world.

“The acts of a few, led by mindless hatred and intolerance, is not the Bradford I know, and most importantly is not something we will allow Bradford to become. Bradford is and will always be a city which is proud of its diversity and it's culture of welcoming those fleeing persecution as a City of Sanctuary and which I am proud to call home,” she said.

“Let us be clear, we as the communities of Bradford have much more to bring us together than we  have to divide us and with that thought I would urge anyone who has any information which could help the bring these attackers to justice to contact the police and help in the investigation,” she added.

Mr Hussain said that this, and previous attacks, were hate crimes, but was concerned that the authorities were not treating his complaints as such.

“From the bottom of my heart, my family and I forgive those who have been persecuting us but we would like to see religious tolerance in society,” he said.

The British Pakistan Christian Association (BPCA) said they want to see laws to clamp down on apostasy in Britain which they said was inspired by Pakistan’s Blasphemy Act and has started a petition to Prime Minister David Cameron over the matter, calling for “proper protection” for citizens who change their religion.

They also want policies and procedures to be officially reviewed.

Bradford Police said they treat reports of hate crime seriously.