Alison Hammond CONFIRMS she will replace comedian Matt Lucas as new host of Great British Bake Off

Alison Hammond has confirmed that she will replace Matt Lucas as presenter of Channel 4’s Great British Bake Off later this year.

The increasingly popular This Morning presenter had originally been mooted as a potential replacement for Little Britain star Lucas, who announced he would step down as presenter last year in February.

Taking to Instagram on Friday, Hammond, 48, confirmed her new role by sharing a short video of herself and co-host Noel Fielding alongside judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith as frosted figurines on top of a large Bake Off-themed cake.

A source told The Mirror: ‘Alison is a great choice. She will bring warmth and humor to the store in spades. We laugh just thinking about it.

Alison is set to make history as the first non-white host or judge in the show’s 14-year history.

MailOnline has contacted Alison’s representatives for comment.

Matt co-hosted the Channel 4 show along with Noel Fielding from 2020, but decided his time on the show was over.

He described his stint alongside Prue Leith, Noel Fielding and Paul Hollywood as “a pandemic job” due to landing the role at the start of the Covid-19 lockdown.

Matt said: ‘I had a great time and the bakers were lovely. Now it’s time for someone else to do it.

In a statement, Matt cited his heavy workload as the reason he walked away from Bake Off, saying he wouldn’t have the time to organize it alongside his work on Fantasy Football League.

He wrote: ‘Goodbye Bake Off! It has been a delightful experience and I cannot imagine a more fun way to spend my summers.

“But it became clear to me that I can’t present both Fantasy Football League and Bake Off along with all my other projects.

“So after three seasons and 51 episodes, I am happily passing the baguette to someone else.

“I would like to give my sincere thanks and gratitude to everyone at Love Productions and Channel 4 and to Noelipops, Paul, Dame Prue, the team and of course the wonderful bakers for welcoming me to the tent.

“I wish the best to whoever takes over and can’t wait to tune in to the next series not knowing who won!”

Matt joined the show in series 11, replacing fellow comedian Sandi Toksvig, who left the show after three seasons.

The comedian received a ton of well wishes from Bake Off fans, who said they would miss him on the show.

The Great British Bake Off is reportedly set to undergo a “back to basics” revamp after the latest series failed to impress viewers.

Fans were said to have complained about the complicated nature of some of the tasks, such as the Halloween lantern having to be a piñata, and the time constraints of ‘mission impossible’.

A source told The Mirror that the bosses have decided to even things out for the next series with contestants having more classic baking tasks.

They said, ‘They realized that last year’s program didn’t really work. Let’s boil it down to the basics, with a few changes.

The Great British Bake Off has announced the star-studded lineup for its 2023 celebrity special in aid of Stand Up To Cancer.

And leading the way are former Little Mix singer Jesy Nelson, Friends legend David Schwimmer and reality star Gemma Collins, who are also hoping to avoid that dreaded soggy bottom with their pies.

A total of 20 famous faces will head to the celebrity tent, with other names battling it out for the star baker, including Loose Women’s Judi Love and Coleen Nolan, comedian Paddy McGuinness and Olympian Tom Daley.

While also vying for that coveted Hollywood handshake are Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden, host AJ Odudu, The Repair Shop’s Jay Blades, radio host Adele Roberts and Strictly’s Ellie Taylor.

Also participating in the Channel 4 show are comedians Rose Matafeo, Mike Wozniak and Lucy Beaumont, radio presenter Tim Key and filmmaker David Morrissey.

Rounding out the star-studded lineup are In betweeners star Joe Thomas, Shaun of the Dead actress Jessica Hynes and Murder in Successville actor Tom Davis.

Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith will once again return as judges, along with hosts Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas, with the latter appearing for the last time.

It comes after Matt and David Walliams recently announced that they would be writing together again, sparking speculation that they were working on a Little Britain reboot.

But Matt insisted on The One Show on Friday night that his new project with David Walliams is something else entirely after being questioned about it by hosts Alex Jones and Ronan Keating.

Little Britain ran from 2003 to 2006 and was a sketch comedy show that featured celebrities as different characters, including Andy and Lou.

Matt, who appeared on the show along with Fantasy Football League co-host Ellis James and singer Rita Ora, said of the rumours: ‘Not true! David Walliams and I are working on something new together, but it’s not Little Britain.

‘It’s something completely new. If anything, it’s more of a spiritual successor to Come Fly With Me, it’ll be all new characters.

“But we’ve literally just started the process, we’re still brainstorming. We know what the concept is, but now we’re creating the characters.’