The TV exec who poached The Great British Bake-Off from the BBC last year has denied that there is friction between the new line-up of judges and hosts on Channel 4.

Jay Hunt, the broadcaster’s outgoing chief creative officer, dismissed reports that relationships between the new faces of the show – Paul Hollywood, Prue Leith, Sandi Toksvig and Noel Fielding – had turned south.

“I was in the tent a few weeks ago for the whole day. I was struck by completely the opposite,” she says.

“Chemistry is hard to achieve on television and the thing that I took away from it more than anything else is that there was natural warmth and that they got on really well and their humour worked incredibly effectively together.”

Having seen the first episode of the new format, Hunt proclaims herself “quietly confident” that it will continue to be a success with audiences at home.

“Their chemistry is fantastic, the calibre of the baking is absolutely jaw dropping... I can reassure all the sceptics that it's looking absolutely fantastic,” she says, adding that the show boasts an “extraordinary, high calibre of contributors”.

Channel 4 exec denies rumours of a rift between the new Bake Off team