Sandi Toksvig reveals why she walked away from the ‘biggest pay cheque of her life’ hosting Bake Off and bluntly divulges who she no longer speaks to from the show

Sandi Toksvig has revealed why she walked away from the ‘biggest paycheque of her life’ as host of The Great British Bake Off.

The TV star, 66, co-hosted the show from 2017 to 2020, where she co-hosted with comedian Noel Fielding.

In 2020, she stepped down and was replaced by comedian Matt Lucas. Matt has now been replaced by This Morning’s Alison Hammond.

Now she has opened up about how it felt like ‘the longest three years of her life’ and how her psychotherapist wife Debbie finally convinced her to quit because she wasn’t happy.

Sandi also revealed who she’s still in touch with on the show – saying she’s joined at the hip with judge Prue Leith, but ‘not so much’ with Paul Hollywood because he’s so busy.

The TV star, 66, co-hosted the show from 2017 to 2020, where she co-presented with comedian Noel Fielding (seen with judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood)

When asked if she was still friends with her former co-host Noel, she simply said The times: ‘No’.

She told the publication why she quit: “It’s not for me. I walked away from the biggest paycheck of my life, but that’s okay. I had never watched it before. I still haven’t watched it. I didn’t understand.

‘Cakes are readily available in stores. I didn’t like the process. There was a showbiz thing you created with Bake Off, it was a big show that attracted a lot of attention.

“But my wife Deb said, ‘It won’t make you happy.’

It comes after ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus tied the knot for a third time, marrying his partner of two years earlier this month, with Sandi officiating the ceremony.

The Swedish singer, 79, married his Danish partner Christina Sas, 51, in Copenhagen in the presence of close friends and family.

Björn announced his happy news on Instagram by sharing a number of photos from the ‘extra special’ day on which Christina wore a beautiful khaki dress.

The message on his Instagram read: ‘Today, on September 21, 2024, Björn Ulvaeus married Christina Sas from Herning, Denmark.

When asked if she was still friends with her former co-host Noel, she simply told The Times: ‘No’ (seen together)

Now she has told how it felt like ‘the longest three years of her life’ and how her psychotherapist wife Debbie finally convinced her to quit because she wasn’t happy (seen with Debbie)

She told the publication why she quit: “It’s not for me. I walked away from the biggest paycheck of my life, but that’s okay. I had never looked at it. I still haven’t watched it. I didn’t understand

‘They met in Nuremberg in 2021 in connection with the release of ABBA’s latest album Voyage and started dating in the spring of 2022.

‘The wedding took place in Copenhagen in the presence of close friends and family.

‘Sandi Toksvig, Anne Linnet and Kaya Brüel performed generously and made the evening extra special.’

Before the ceremony, host Sandi, 66, who is friends with Björn after the pair worked together on Mamma Mia: The Party! jointly opted for red priestly robes in 2018.

During their first public appearance together in June 2022, Björn and Christina told reporters, “We’ve been dating for a while and I felt like I wanted to take her to this event. So this is the first time we’ve gone out together.’

The couple met when Christina was working for ABBA’s label Universal in Germany, which released their album Voyage in 2021.

The following year he announced that his 41-year marriage to his second wife, music journalist Lena Kallersjo, 75, was over.

In February 2022, Björn and Lena, who share two daughters Emma, ​​42, and Anna, 38, released a joint statement confirming their split, agreeing to jointly share their £100 million assets equally.

She added: “I didn’t like the process. There was a showbiz thing you created with Bake Off, it was a big show that attracted a lot of attention. But my wife Deb said, ‘It won’t make you happy’