Sandi Toksvig: Why Noel Fielding is the right choice for Great British Bake Off - and he'll dress better than me
Sandi Toksvig says she is "absolutely confident" that her Great British Bake Off co-host Noel Fielding is the right man for the job, saying he is "a huge fan of the show" and will treat it with love.
The duo are replacing Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins in the Channel 4 version of Bake Off, which will launch this Autumn.
While Toksvig is seen as a safe pair of hands, the choice of Mighty Boosh comic Fielding is more contentious.
Speaking at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards, Toksvig said: "He is a huge fan of the show. I'm absolutely confident he will bring the same level of love that I'll bring to it. That's all you can do, right?"
She added: "I love him. We're good friends. He's going to dress better than me, but other than that we're all right. And I imagine he has more eyeliner than I do."
As to her new role, Toksvig said: "It's fantastic. Who wouldn't be thrilled? It's a tremendous honour - like taking over a national treasure.
"But you know, it's about the bakers and I'm looking forward to giving them the best care that I can."
Her approach will be "cheerful and warm. I want everyone to feel it's a nice, safe place. The point is: it's all about the bakers. I hope that I can make a warm atmosphere where they feel that they can do their best."
Prue Leith is replacing Mary Berry on the show, which ran on the BBC for seven series. Paul Hollywood is the only original member of the line-up remaining.
Toksvig stepped in to host the RTS event after Piers Morgan pulled out in response to a campaign to oust him.
In a quip that could equally be applied to her Bake Off appointment, she told the audience: "I think you can tell how much we've moved on when the least controversial choice for host is the foreign lesbian."
Toksvig, who is Danish born and married to her female partner, also joked that she doesn't watch a lot of television.
"I blame that man Gutenberg for inventing books," she said.
About | Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig
Royal Television Society Awards winners
At the ceremony, online-only BBC Three beat BBC One and Channel 4 to the Channel of the Year award.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge was a double winner, scooping Best Comedy Writer and the Breakthrough Award for BBC Three's dark comedy Fleabag.
Another BBC Three comedy, People Just Do Nothing, beat Catastrophe to Best Scripted Comedy, and its star Asim Chaudhry won Best Comedy Performance.
Murdered By My Father was another win for BBC Three in the Best Single Drama category.
Happy Valley won Best Drama Series and there were two prizes for its creator, Sally Wainwright: Best Drama Writer and the Judges' Award.
Grayson Perry won Best Presenter and Best Arts Programme for All Man.
Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway won Best Entertainment Programme.
Robbie Coltrane was named Best Actor (National Treasure) and Sophie Okonedo named Best Actress (Undercover).
Julie Walters received the Lifetime Achievement Award for a 43-year career that has spanned drama and comedy.
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