Nadiya Hussain fears ‘The Great British Bake Off’ will struggle to attract viewers once it switches to Channel 4.
The 32-year-old baker won the show in 2015, but fears it could follow in the footsteps of ‘Top Gear’, which flopped when Chris Evans replaced Jeremy Clarkson as the main host.
Nadiya said: "It certainly won’t be the same ‘Bake Off’, it’s going to change the whole ‘Bake Off’ that we know, that I know. The one problem with humans is that we don’t like change and the second you change something that we love people freak out a little bit. I think Brexit got less coverage!
"They are going to change the format to get adverts in between but I still love ‘Bake Off’ and I will still watch ‘Bake Off’ when it’s on Channel 4. I might just watch the first series just to criticise a little bit. We just don’t want a repetition of ‘Top Gear’, do we?"
The hugely popular show is set to make the switch from the BBC to Channel 4 after the broadcaster won a big-money battle for the programme in 2016.
However, the new-look show will not feature presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, and Nadiya has warned it will be a tall order to replace them.
She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "It’s going to be tough to replace them, they are amazing, they make up such a massive part of the show. That’s going to be tough shoes to fill."
Meanwhile, Mel recently insisted she doesn’t have "any bad feelings" towards her former co-star Paul Hollywood, even though he is to appear on the show on Channel 4.
She said: "I love the guy, genuinely. He’s a pal and a friend and I don’t want any bad feelings or bad vibes. We had seven years together and they were really fun, good years."