New Bake Off presenter Noel Fielding 'avoids sugar'

New Great British Bake Off presenter Noel Fielding says he is careful about eating sugar because "no-one likes a tubby gut".

The Mighty Boosh star told the Sunday Times he "can't put on weight" because he gets more work when he is thinner.

Meanwhile, healthy food campaigner Prue Leith, who takes over from Mary Berry on the show, insists "baking is the best way to get people into cooking".

The latest series returns this autumn on Channel 4 after it outbid the BBC.

Fielding, who joins Leith in the show's new line-up, told The Sunday Times Magazine: "Sugar is a powerful thing".

The comedian explained that he recently lost a stone to play the singer Alice Cooper: "I get more work when I'm thinner, so I can't put on weight.

"I don't eat anything, I'm like a plant."

He added: "It's not that I don't like cake, I have a very sweet tooth."

The BBC lost the contract to broadcast Bake Off last year after Love Productions, the makers of the show, signed a three-year deal with Channel 4. It is understood the channel offered £25m for the rights, in contrast to the £15m offered by the BBC.

Paul Hollywood is the only original member of the BBC line-up to appear on the new series, describing the new C4 line-up - Fielding, Leith and QI host Sandi Toksvig - as a "dysfunctional family".

Fielding and Toksvig were announced as Bake Off's new presenters in March, after previous hosts Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc announced they "were not going with the dough" when the show switched channels.

The pair had presented all seven series of the show - since its launch in 2010 - alongside judges Berry and Hollywood.

Similarly Berry also announced she would not remain with the show on Channel 4, citing "loyalty" to the BBC.

Restaurateur and broadcaster Leith - renowned for her no-nonsense attitude as a judge on The Great British Menu - was subsequently announced as Berry's replacement.

Asked if the show, with its abundance of cakes and biscuits, fitted with her healthy eating ideals, Leith told the Sunday Times: "I really thought twice about accepting Bake Off... but I reasoned that, actually, baking is the best way to get people into general cooking."

"And that's what we need the nation to do: to get interested in the kitchen."

"Even if you don't allow yourself to eat too much cake, you still like drooling over it."

Bake Off became a huge ratings hits for BBC One, pulling in record-breaking viewing figures. The final BBC episode, broadcast last October, saw an average of 14 million people tune in to see PE teacher Candice Brown crowned the victor.

Yet, in the same interview, Fielding intimated that co-host Toksvig, had never previously watched Bake Off.

Asked what her favourite episode was, Toksvig said: "The one where they make cake? I don't watch a lot of television, I'm more of a reader."