The new series of The Great British Bake Off is now filming and will air on Channel 4 later this year, it has been confirmed.

The annual cookery contest was due to begin filming its new series in April but was halted due to coronavirus - and there had been fears that it could be cancelled altogether.

Producers instead took the decision to isolate the contestants, judges, hosts and crew together for the length of the shoot, however, and producer Sky Studios' chief commercial officer Jane Millichip has revealed that filming got underway in a mystery location "in the shires" around a fortnight ago.

Commenting that filming is "going very well", she added to a Broadcasting Press Guild lunch: "It's all happening in deep secret, somewhere in darkest deepest Britain in the shires."

Asked whether the show would still air this autumn, Millichip replied: "You will have your victoria sponge this year."

The new series will see Matt Lucas take over from Sandi Toksvig as co-host to Noel Fielding.