The Last Leg presenter Adam Hills has placed his bets on Sandi Toksvig taking a motherly role over Noel Fielding when the pair take over presenting the next series of The Great British Bake Off.

While agreeing in part with critics who have said it is a combination that “shouldn’t work,” he said that he takes nothing for granted when it comes to television.

Sandi and Noel were recently announced as the replacements for Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc on the much-loved baking contest, joining Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood when the show debuts on Channel 4.

Adam Hills
(Ian West/PA)

The Mighty Boosh star Noel proved to be a particularly surprising choice among the show’s fans.

“I love Noel Fielding,” Adam told the Press Association, “I like the fact that Sandi loves Noel and that they’ve done stuff together. It’s a combination that shouldn’t work, but I almost see her being a mother figure to him, telling him things like, ‘Come here you crazy kid, stop what you’re doing, settle down’.”

Responding to backlash against casting the controversial comedian, he continued: “I’m surprised that the tabloids are trying to unearth stuff about Noel because he’s bonkers – what did they expect his private life are going to be?”

Sandi Toksvig
(Ian West/PA)

“He has told me stories that I cannot wait to hit the news, but I will let him share those. The thing with TV is that you never know what’s going to work.

“You could come up with something that seems logical for Bake Off and then nobody watches it, so you may as well take a punt on people like Noel and Sandi. I never take anything for granted when it comes to TV.”

His comments came during the RTS Awards in central London on Tuesday night.

Julie Walters
(Ian West/PA)

Actress Julie Walters, a self-confessed fan of Bake Off, said she was also looking forward to seeing what the new set-up would bring.

She told the Press Association: “I love Bake Off and I am so sad it has gone from the BBC, but I will definitely be watching the next series.

“I love Sandi and it will be very interesting to see how it transfers. It will just be a different experience from Mary Berry and maybe that will be good – who’s to say?”

Sandi also stepped on to the red carpet during the event in Park Lane, telling reporters that the next series would be “all about the bakers”.