Great British Bake Off: Twitter reacts to GBBO 2017

The Great British Bake Off is back, but not as we know it. Last night's episode was the first to be broadcast on Channel 4, after a controversial bidding war saw the BBC lose the rights to the uber-successful franchise.

Episode one pulled in 6.5 million viewers, more than double the number Channel 4 had previously said it would need to break even. But will those reassuring ratings last?

It all depends what last night's viewers thought about Channel 4's take on Bake Off - and where better to find out than Twitter?

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The first sight on screen was the arrival - via hot air balloon - of Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig, replacing previous hosts Mel and Sue. Viewers expecting Fielding's usual surreal comic stylings were surprised to see him at home in the genteel world of competitive baking:

But it was the absence of the nation's firm but fair grandmother, Mary Berry - replaced as a judge by Prue Leith - that proved an especially bitter pill to swallow. All the stages of grief were on full display on Twitter, from denial:

To anger:

And finally, acceptance:

And then there was the least welcome newcomer of all - the ad breaks:

But Gogglebox star Scarlett Moffatt did point out one undeniable bright side:

The good news is that the new batch of baking hopefuls appear to have already started worming their way into viewers' hearts, with Merseyside grandmother Flo - who wowed Paul and Prue with an elaborate watermelon "illusion" cake - already a fan favourite:

In fact, many diehard BBC loyalists felt their resolve beginning to wobble as the similar sights and sounds of the Bake-Off overwhelmed them:

The tweet of the night, however, came courtesy of an unexpected source - celebrity chef and wordplay master Raymond Blanc, who gave us this gem:

The Great British Bake Off continues on Tuesdays at 8pm on Channel 4.