Sandi Toksvig reveals the real reason she quit The Great British Bake Off

When Sandi Toksvig quit The Great British Bake Off after three years she admitted she’d found it “boring” and that it made her "unhappy" - despite it being the best paid job she’s ever had.

Now the big-brained host of BBC2’s QI is making two new travel series for Channel 4, and both have adventure firmly at their heart.

The comedian and broadcaster will front Sandi Toksvig's Great Riveria Rail Trip, which sees her exploring the part of the French coast much-loved by A-list stars including Elton John and Brad Pitt.

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The four-part series, to air later this year, takes viewers on one of the world’s most glamorous train journeys – from the bustling port of Marseille to the lemon-scented serenity of Menton on the French-Italian border.

Along the way Sandi visits the region’s most iconic destinations including Monaco, Cannes, Nice, and Saint-Tropez, also taking in super yachts and casinos and uncovering stories of the kings, queens, artists and celebrities who transformed the Côte d’Azur into one of the world’s dream holiday destinations.

Full of Sandi’s “signature wit”, the show has been made by Cornelia Street Productions, the team behind Julia Bradbury’s Irish Journey and John Torode’s Ireland.

And a second new commission, Sandi's Hidden Wonders, from Salamanda Media, is set to follow on from her previous travel series Extraordinary Escapes and sees her exploring some of the world’s best kept secrets.

One insider said: “Sandi may not have felt she was intellectually challenged enough on Bake Off, but her new shows are full of adventure so there’s no room, or time, for boredom. Far from it! This is Sandi at her warm and witty best.”

Having filmed both the new series, it is clear Sandi has made a full recovery from bronchial pneumonia, which she caught while touring in Australia two years ago and was so severe she “thought she was dying”.

When she quit Bake Off in 2020, Sandi confessed that she hadn’t enjoyed working on the series, despite appearing to have fun with co-host Noel Fielding.

Branding her time on the show as the "three longest years of my life” and saying she could feel her brain “atrophying”, the 67-year-old explained last year: “I make no bones about the fact I did not enjoy it. I walked away from the biggest pay cheque of my life, but that's fine.

“I mean, no disrespect to people, but watching meringue dry and being told how many different kinds there are, I honestly thought I was going out of my mind.”

And she added: “I'd never watched it. I still haven't watched it. I didn't understand it. Cakes are readily available in the shops.”

At the time of her departure, in 2020, Sandi said: “When stepping down from a job, it is quite common for people to say they are doing so in order to spend more time with their family. Unusually, I am departing from The Great British Bake Off so I can spend more time with my other work.”

She has since revealed that the only person from Bake Off that she remains in touch with is Prue Leith, with whom she is “joined at the hip”.

In 2021 she was replaced by Matt Lucas, who later left and was replaced by Alison Hammond.

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