The Great British Bake Off is still headed back to Channel 4, but the show’s latest bun fight has turned into a much bigger television-industry drama.
According to a detailed report from Deadline, Sky explored moving the franchise away from Channel 4 in 2025 under the codename Project Rise. That plan alarmed Love Productions executives, who wanted to preserve the programme’s existing home and had already negotiated terms for a new Channel 4 contract in 2024.
The concern was not simply about changing channels. People familiar with the dispute feared that Bake Off could lose its broad, free-to-air reach if it moved to Sky’s pay-TV operation. Deadline also reports that Sky’s early thinking included dropping spin-offs such as The Great British Bake Off: The Professionals and the kids’ edition, a prospect that reportedly unsettled Love’s leadership and threatened work connected to those productions.
Project Rise ultimately did not happen. Sky negotiated a new agreement directly with Channel 4 in October 2025, keeping the flagship show free to air. That result is reassuring for viewers, although it did little to settle the internal dispute. Former Love managing director Letty Kavanagh says the process was mishandled and damaged the company’s relationship with Channel 4. She has filed lawsuits alleging wrongful dismissal, unpaid severance, sex discrimination and other grievances. Deadline reports that she is seeking £755,752 in a separate High Court claim.
Sky rejects the allegations. The company says it was reasonable to consider options for a major show approaching renewal, denies wrongdoing and maintains that an external Gibson Dunn investigation did not substantiate the complaints. Sky also says its continued investment in Bake Off demonstrates a commitment to the franchise, not an attempt to undermine it.
The dispute arrives at an especially notable moment for Love Productions. Sky has installed new management at the company and later agreed to sell it to ITV Studios for £200 million as part of Comcast’s proposed ITV takeover, according to Deadline. That gives the conflict an added industry angle, with Kavanagh presenting it as a warning about Sky’s approach to public-service television and Sky characterizing the claims very differently.
For fans, the immediate takeaway is simpler: Bake Off remains on Channel 4. Season 17 is due next month, with Nigella Lawson joining the judging lineup. The show’s next challenge may not be on the recipe bench, but in court.
Source: deadline.com
AI-assisted reporting. Published by the Fan Reviews AI Newsroom under automated editorial standards.
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