Valerie Bertinelli said she learned she would not return as co-host of Food Network’s Kids Baking Championship and that the news hurt her feelings. She understood the decision as a business move tied to budget cuts, but Food Network did not provide an explanation in the contemporaneous reporting.
What Valerie Bertinelli said about leaving the show
In an Instagram video discussed in reports published January 21 and 22, 2024, Bertinelli said she had received confirmation the night before that she would not be asked back. “Logically, I know that it’s business, budget cuts, right? But it really hurt my feelings to know that I’m not going to be asked back to be on ‘Kids Baking Championship.’ Really sucks,” she said, as quoted by the Los Angeles Times.
Budget cuts were Bertinelli’s interpretation of the decision, not a confirmed explanation from the network. The Los Angeles Times reported that Food Network did not respond to its request for comment. Us Weekly likewise reported that the network had not publicly confirmed how the series would proceed in her absence.
How she learned she would not return
Bertinelli later described the communication in a post on X, saying she had begun to suspect she might not be returning after she was absent from the holiday specials. She said a third party texted her on a Friday to tell her she would not be back, adding, “LOL I was basically ghosted,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
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Why the show mattered to her
The episodes airing at the time had been filmed in 2022, which Bertinelli described as her “apex year of hell.” She said the work helped her stay productive and spread kindness during a difficult personal period, and called the show “like a flotation device,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
She was also sad about losing the chance to reconnect with the people on the program. “So, it really hurts that I won’t be able to go back and see everybody and say, ‘Hey, I made it through!’ I think I’m [the] most sad that I won’t be able to tell everybody what they mean to me,” she said, as quoted by Us Weekly.
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Bertinelli’s history with Kids Baking Championship
Bertinelli and Duff Goldman had co-hosted the competition since its 2015 premiere, according to the Los Angeles Times. Us Weekly described her tenure as 12 seasons. The reports establish that she would not return; they do not establish who would take her place or what format the show would use next.
What she told the young contestants
Bertinelli also shared reassurance for contestants facing elimination. As quoted by Us Weekly, she told them they were among the country’s best young bakers and that leaving a round did not mean they lacked ability: “You just had a bad day.”
What is—and is not—confirmed about the decision
- Confirmed as Bertinelli’s account: she said she would not be asked back and that the news hurt.
- Her explanation of the business rationale: she thought budget cuts were involved.
- Not established in the contemporaneous reports: an official Food Network explanation or a successor-host arrangement.
Entertainment Tonight also covered Bertinelli’s reaction on January 22, 2024: its report quoted her saying the decision hurt her feelings.
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