Former Great British Bake Off winner John Whaite has announced his "TV career is over" after he lost his job on Channel 4 's Steph's Packed Lunch.
The show was pulled off the air by the broadcaster and cancelled last week. But John, 34, revealed that the decision was likely a blessing in disguise for the former Strictly Come Dancing contestant.
Whaite was a constant face on Steph's Packed Lunch, which formed Channel 4's main daytime magazine show. While on the show, John would be in the kitchen cooking up meals for the guests, and would also act as a relief presenter when Steph could not host.
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But taking to Instagram stories, he admitted that he was planning on stepping back from the hosting limelight. He added that he was "completely fine" at the show being axed, saying: "This is the truth, I was gonna leave TV this year anyway.
"That's why I've been off Packed Lunch for a couple of weeks just to get my head in gear and I had just about come to the conclusion that I think my career in television is now done," he continued. "I’ve had a great run, loved it, and I'll do the odd bit here and there but I need to focus my attention on business and my creativity, so that's where I am."
Instead of focussing the attention on himself, John told his fans to think of those who worked behind the scenes of the show. He added that all those working on the show including runners and producers were an "amazing team who have made that show what it is".
He gave his own sympathies to the team, who he said "have had the rug pulled out from under them". However, he did give his thanks to his loyal fans who offered their thoughts to him.
Despite his stepping back from television, John is not holding back from carrying on with his cooking career. Plans are already afoot for him to be giving more time for "recipes and rambling" through a podcast delivered to his followers.
John has been in the public eye after he won the third series of The Great British Bake Off in 2012. After a stint of appearances throughout the decade, he came to prominence in 2021 when he competed on the nineteenth series of Strictly. Reaching the final of the BBC show, he just missed out on the glitterball trophy – losing out to Rose Ayling-Ellis and partner Giovanni Pernice.
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