The Great British Bake Off (BBC1, 8pm)

TIME for 12 sweaty so-and-sos to return to the serious business of challenges such as making a Swiss roll (and please don’t say, ‘Push him down the steps at the airport’). The private life-challenged Paul Hollywood and national treasure Mary Berry are now with the big boys on BBC1 as the latter also seeks a classic cherry cake and 36 miniature British classics while Mr H is keen on “suspended cherries” – and hopefully a film crew with straight faces.

Comedy due and presenters Sue Perkins and Mel Geidroyc have also had their profiles boosted by the series which is now a TV format selling all over the planet.

"We've seen broadcasters around the world put their own special twist on the programme to great success, for example with the speciality cakes that are associated with different countries," says Elin Thomas at BBC Worldwide. "Baking is a tradition everyone can relate to so I have no doubt this brilliant format will only continue to win more fans around the world."

Last year, the stylish Frances Quinn surprised viewers by beating pre-final favourite Ruby Tandoh to the title. But who will follow in her footsteps? Cooking show fans will soon be hooked on the new contestants trials and tribulations, rooting for the underdogs and feeling jealous of the star bakers' prowess.

"I've championed The Great British Bake Off from the very start and believe the time is absolutely right to bring the show to an even broader audience on BBC1," says Charlotte Moore, who's now the controller of BBC1, having signed up the original series in 2009 when she was the commissioning editor of documentaries.

"I've watched the series grow over the past few years and earn a special place in the nation's hearts," she adds. Bake Off now has the challenge of smashing its record viewing figure of 7.8million. Only a half-baked critic would bet against it.

Sarah Beeny's Double Your House for Half the Money (Channel 4, 8pm)

SHE can be a meany, but always watchable Sarah Beany is back with a new run of the series in which members of the public attempt to create the homes of their dreams by bashing them about a bit. The first episode visits Great Baddow in Essex, where Ian and Caire are hoping to expand their four-bedroom house into a multi-generational home to supply separate floors for them, their parents and children. She also meets a duo who left London after the 2011 riots and are now reworking the interior of their 1960s property in Leicestershire.

Operation Wild (BBC1, 9pm)

THAT other all-purpose presenter Clare Balding disappears from the swimming pool at the Commonwealth Games, and pops up for a three-parter alongside vet Steve Leonard. They meet teams around the world that are about to take on ground-breaking operations designed to save the lives of wild creatures. Their first stop is the Wolong Giant Panda Base in south west China, where human neo-natal techniques are being used to keep baby pandas alive. Leonard is faced with a elephant that has a bullet lodged in his foot in Laos. Tracking down the bullet involves an x-ray machine and a less-than-thrilled pachyderm. There are times when technology can't hot-foot its way through every problem.