According to social media analysis, positivity about The Great British Bake Off (GBBO) has plummeted 41% since the show announced it would leave the BBC.

Looking at how Brits feel about the presenters, independent maker of social marketing software Spredfast has found positive sentiment around Mary Berry has fallen 7%, driven by people feeling upset about her announcement that she is to leave the show.

In contrast, anger drove the increase in negativity around Paul Hollywood, who announced he is to stay with the show when it moves to Channel Four.

Negative sentiment surrounding the show increased 180% in the 24 hours after the BBC’s announcement, and Berry and Hollywood’s respective decisions to leave and stay have divided opinion.

Over 249,000 tweets regarding the show were sent in under five days following the BBC announcement, an 88% increase on normal traffic. Spredfast said the country is in “a pressure cooker of emotions”.

Leo Ryan of Spredfast said: “Brits are passionate about the Bake Off, and the recent upheaval has created a pressure cooker of emotions that’s bubbling over onto social media. This is one of those significant moments that has the whole country talking, but only time will tell if people’s feelings about the changes will affect the future success of the show.”

Our GBBO blogger, former contestant Cathryn Dresser, has been keeping us updated on the show each week.