Former Channel 5 boss David Elstein has likened Channel 4′s deal on the Great British Bake Off to “buying Corrie without Ken Barlow”.

As Mary Berry, Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins decided not to follow the BBC show to Channel 4, Elstein suggested Paul Hollywood would not carry the show on his own.

The Great British Bake Off
The Great British Bake Off is moving to Channel 4 (BBC/Love Productions/PA)

He wrote in The Sun that Channel 4 had “done itself no favours” with the deal, rumoured to be worth £25 million per year.

“The news that Mary Berry has joined Mel and Sue in not going to C4 makes their decision even more foolish”, he said.

David Elstein, middle
David Elstein, middle (Roland Rowley)

“I have been a chief executive of a TV channel and my board would have been livid with me if I hadn’t locked in the judges and presenters.

“It is a bit like buying Corrie without Ken Barlow.”

William Roache plays Ken Barlow on Coronation Street
William Roache plays Ken Barlow on Coronation Street (ITV)

He suggested Channel 4 should have looked at Paul’s US version, The American Baking Competition, which failed “because the chemistry with the other presenters didn’t work”.