Love Productions, the company behind The Great British Bake Off, announced this morning that Britain's beloved baking show will be moving to Channel 4 at the end of this series, but the news hasn't been well received with fans.

https://storify.com/edp24/fan-reaction-to-gbbo-s-move-to-channel-4

Since its first episode debuted in August 2010, The Great British Bake Off has aired on the BBC, beginning on BBC Two, where it became the channel's most popular show, before moving to BBC One from series five onwards.

However, today it was revealed that the popular baking competition has found a new home after the BBC lost its contract to broadcast the show and a three-year deal between Love Productions and Channel 4 was signed.

This news follows an announcement by Love Productions on Monday afternoon, where they informed the public that the BBC had failed to secure a new deal after 'more than a year of exhaustive negotiations'.

Originally it was believed that The BBC had offered the UK production company about £15 million to retain the show, but the Guardian has reported that Love Productions rejected this as they 'believed its value was above £20 million'.

Channel 4 are thought to have fought off competition from both ITV and Netflix, as well as the BBC, to win the rights to the show and are believed to be paying around £25 million a year to broadcast it.

The channel swap is set to take place in 2017 when a celebrity version of the hit programme in aid of the charity Stand Up to Cancer will air.

Presenters Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc have stepped down as hosts of the show, but it is yet to be announced whether judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood will continue on after the move to Channel 4.

The four have previously spoken out about their support for the programme being on BBC One and last night Sue was seen to retweet a statement from the BBC Press Office which argued that 'GBBO is a quintessentially BBC programme'.

As well as the potential loss of its core presenting and judging team, another possible issue the show will face during the move to Channel 4 is the addition of adverts.

The BBC's strict advertising policy means that the corporation 'is not permitted to carry advertising or sponsorship on its public services' and thus a full hour of the competition is shown each week with no breaks, something fans have come to enjoy about the programme. However, when moved to Channel 4, it is likely the broadcast time will be cut to make room for adverts throughout each episode, resulting in less baking and more waiting.

Fans of the show have taken to social media to express their opinions on the move, with many appearing upset by the news. Twitter user Alex Williams said he was 'disappointed the BBC have signed over the Great British Bake Off to Channel 4. Doubt it will be the same again' while Jessica Simpson thought 'it will all backfire, viewers will leave in droves and series will get axed. Greedy Love Productions have killed GBBO'.

Others have even gone as far as to suggest that they would be cancelling their television licence at the end of this series.

Since the news broke, a petition has been launched online to Keep The Great British Bake Off on the BBC, which has already received more than 4,000 signatures.

Rebecca Moody, who created the campaign via the website 38 Degrees on Monday evening, calls for Love Productions to renegotiate the deal and argues 'This should not be about the best financial deal... We want this programme to remain on fee based public service. A full hour not 45 minutes with 15 minutes of adverts!'

Not everyone feels as strongly about the issue as Rebecca though, with some Twitter users like Sarah Davis, asking 'what's so hard about pushing a different remote button?'

• What do you think about GBBO moving to Channel 4? Will you continue to watch the show? Let us know in the comments below.