He publicly defended the controversial decision to appoint Noel Fielding as the new host for the Great British Bake Off as 'perfect and exciting'.And show veteran Paul Hollywood has thrown his support behind the comedian once again as they enjoyed a boys' night out in London on Thursday.
The much-adored baker, 51, took to Instagram on Friday morning to show off his budding bromance with his new co-star, 43, ahead of filming the latest series for Channel 4.
Paul showed off his pearly whites as he beamed for the camera, while Noel posed in the background with a cheeky expression adorned on his face.
Sharing the snap with his followers, the celebrity chef simply captioned the shot: 'Catching up with Noel...'.
And Paul's hordes of fans quickly flocked to his social media account to share their opinions on the 'bonkers' decision to appoint Noel as the new co-host.
One excited fan wrote: 'Can't wait... Dream team', while another echoed the sentiment with: 'I admit I was gonna turn off but thanks to Noel you will gain a whole new army of fans!!!! Cant wait (sic)'.
However, a third was not too happy by the new friendship, writing: 'Sorry. might be a lovely guy, but does not match the show. losing viewers there.'
The pair's lads' night out comes after new judge, Prue Leith, defended the choice of the comedian as presenter of the family show, saying she hopes 'he doesn't lose that wild side'.
The baker, 77, revealed her two children are big fans of the comic who made his name on Channel Four cult comedy series The Mighty Boosh.
'I've only heard of him because my children just adored him,' she told The Sun. 'They don't watch Bake Off but they do watch him.
'My daughter said rather rudely, "Well now he's in it I might watch it." I was like "What about me?"
And while Noel's past career stints have been tailored to a rather more niche audience than Bake Off's broader base, the South African-born restaurateur thinks Noel might adapt his brand of humour to the family show.
'If you go to church, you don't behave the same way you do at a party in the middle of the night,' said Prue. 'So he might change a bit. But I hope he doesn't lose that wild side.'
Noel and Sandi Toksvig will take over presenting duties from BBC duo Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins while Prue fills Mary Berry shoes, joining Paul Hollywood to judge the baking.
This comes despite X-rated lyrics to Noel Fielding's song with Kasabian's Serge Pizzorno - leaving bosses at Love Productions fearful of losing the series' familial viewership.
The joker's expletive song Live For The Night [Cocaine City] - from his band Loose Tapestries' album NHS - is filled with heavy-duty references to drugs and sex, proving to be a far cry from the cookie-cutter Channel 4 baking show.
Noel's controversial song features the following lyrics: 'Do you think you can send down a couple of jungle c**ks and one of those skinny white Thai c**ks?'
The Never Mind The Buzzcocks star also repeated the shocking phrase: 'From flaccid to erections', before comparing male ejaculation to paintings of American artist Jackson Pollock.
'Hi Gloria, could you send in both cleaning teams please? The neon dance floor looks like a Jackson Pollock. Thank you, soon as possible. Literally paddling in semen down here,' a voice-over concluded the profanity fuelled single.
However, his Kasabian rocker bandmate Serge ensured to show Noel his support and told Nick Grimshaw on Radio 1 on Friday that the pair had discussed the move.
He cited surrealist artist Salvador Dali as the reason behind Noel's justification to cross over into mainstream TV.
Apparently the quirky star deliberated with the Kasabian frontman before agreeing to replace beloved duo Mel and Sue alongside the QI lead.
Serge, 36, who just released a new single, explained: 'We figured, Salvador Dali did a chocolate advert, so that sort of makes it all right.'
The renowned surrealist artist starred in a chocolate advert for Lanvin in 1968 to make money in addition to his earnings from selling artworks.
The rock star said he believes his friend will be 'absolutely fantastic' in the series, but was sad not to be able to go out and celebrate the news on Friday night.
He said the pair decided not to head out partying because of the anger displayed by some fans over the Channel 4 and Love Productions execs' choices for Mel and Sue's replacements.
However, GBBO's chef Paul Hollywood, who has been part of the successful show since 2010, branded Noel's appointment 'perfect and exciting'.
He said: 'I'm really excited. Obviously it's a big thing for the country, the Bake Off, and when I heard the names read out, I was really excited.'
'I think the whole dynamics of it, when I sat down and thought about it, because I'm a big fan of Noel, and Sandi actually.
'I did know about Prue but I didn’t know about the others at all but it
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