Matt Lucas takes subtle swipe at Bake Off after admitting he never wanted the job

Matt Lucas has revealed he had never watched The Great British Bake Off before being brought on as a presenter, a job he’s also said he didn’t want.

The comedian, 48, joined the reality baking series in 2020, presenting three seasons of the show alongside Noel Fielding and judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood.

However late last year Matt quit the show, explaining that he was finding it difficult to balance filming with the other projects he was working on, including Fantasy Football League.

Now he’s spoken more about his decision to walk away, labelling it a ‘pandemic job’ that he just ‘went along with’.

‘I’d never seen the show beforehand and I was not a baker,’ he said.

‘They were just looking for a new host and it came at a time where I had been living in LA for seven years and I had just sold my house there and I was thinking about coming back and spending more time with my family and friends.

Paul Hollywood, Noel Fielding Matt Lucas and Prue Leith. — Paul Hollywood, Noel Fielding Matt Lucas and Prue Leith all worked together on the past three seasons of Bake Off (Picture: Mark Bourdillon)

‘I was told they were interested in me but I said I had never seen it so they [the production company] asked if I would watch it and I watched a couple of episodes and thought it was great but I don’t want to host a TV show, but said “thank you, I’m really grateful”,’ he recalled while appearing on The Deeney Talks podcast.

However, after some encouragement from his agent to meet with the production company, Matt decided to go along to the meeting and was surprised to eventually be offered the job.

‘Anyway, I went along with it and I got the job and then I was like “oh ok” and it just kind of happened – it was exactly when the pandemic was and it was the perfect pandemic job and I did it and it was fun and I had a great time with Noel and Paul and Prue and the bakers were lovely and I learned a bit about baking,’ he added.

But after 51 episodes he felt like it was time for ‘someone else to do it’, as he wanted to focus on his passions.

Matt said that projects like Fantasy Football League, writing a book and musical, and working on a new TV series with former Little Britain star David Walliams required a significant time commitment.

‘It probably utilises what I have better than Bake Off,’ he said of his sporting show.

‘I just don’t have the time and not doing Bake Off means I have time to do some writing with David and record my music as well as Fantasy Football League,’ he added.