The Great British Bake Off made its hotly-anticipated return last night attracting an impressive average audience of 6.9 million viewers and a 32.0% share of audience - with a massive 7.9m/ 32.0% peak (5mins), making it the show’s biggest ever overnight launch audience to date on Channel 4!

Bake Off’s series 11 debut is Channel 4’s biggest broadcast of 2020 to date and the channel’s highest rating programme since the series nine final of GBBO in 2018 (7.5m / 35.2%).

Last night’s launch show pulled in the biggest audience of any channel from 8.15pm to 9.45pm and the highest share of 16-34 year old viewers in its time slot with over half of this young audience watching TV at the time tuning in (56%).

Its significant share of young viewers makes it the biggest programme on TV this year among 16-34 year olds - excluding addresses from the Prime Minister and The Queen.

Last night’s audience, including its share of young viewers, more than tripled Channel 4’s slot average.

Ian Katz, Director of Programmes said: “It was one of our top priorities to get Bake Off on air this year and I’m delighted the new series has brought some much-needed cheer to so many people. After all the grimness and hardship of the last few months, it felt like the country badly needed the reassuring warmth and wholesomeness of the Bake Off tent - a place where the worst thing that can happen is a pineapple upside down cake ending up on the floor. Huge thanks to Prue, Paul, Noel and Matt and everyone at Love Productions for making the show happen this year, and especially to the bakers who are, as ever, what makes the Bake Off cake rise.”

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