The BBC have lost the rights to The Great British Bake Off

It looks like this season of The Great British Bake Off may just be the last at the BBC, as it's emerged that the corporation have lost the rights to the show.

The production company behind the series, Love Productions, have said it has been "unable to reach agreement on terms to renew the commission of The Great British Bake Off".

Negotiations had been taking place for the past year, with a last-ditch meeting on Monday proving unsuccessful for the BBC.

Love Productions issued the following statement to its staff (via The Telegraph): "We are writing to let you all know that, with deep regret, after more than a year of exhaustive negotiations we have been unable to reach an agreement with the BBC for the renewal of The Great British Bake Off.

"We feel it is very important to let you all know as soon as possible because there has been a lot of inaccurate reporting in the media about the negotiations and we want you to be aware of the main facts.

"We are really saddened by this outcome because we always wanted to stay on the BBC. As recently as June we were convinced that was what would happen. This has never been about who might write the biggest cheque, but about where we can find the best home for Bake Off.

"Unfortunately we were unable to agree either a fair valuation, and nor were the BBC able to provide the necessary comfort for the future protection of such a distinctive and much-loved television series."

The company added in a statement: "After an extraordinary six-year journey with the BBC, Love Productions announces with regret that it has been unable to reach agreement on terms to renew the commission of The Great British Bake Off. We will now be focusing on finding a new partner to develop the familiar show that the British public turn to in their millions. Love Productions would like to thank the BBC for the role it played in making this show such an enormous hit, and the faith they showed in us over the years to develop it."

It's not yet known what station would take over the show, but we'd imagine it will be ITV. The news also means that there will likely be no Bake Off until late in 2017 or even 2018 as the BBC contract states that there has to be a year's break between the corporation stopping airing and another channel starting to broadcast the show. It's also not known whether Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood would leave the BBC either.

What, pray tell though, is Bake Off without Mary Berry's jackets and baking puns? We dread to think.

*Update: It's been announced that Channel 4 will be the new home of The Great British Bake Off.