Portadown man’s Bake Off debut a ratings hit
THE cakes may have fallen — but The Great British Bake Off ’s return delivered a ratings high for Channel 4.
The opener notched up Bake Off ’s biggest overnight launch audience since its move to Channel 4, the broadcaster said.
Fans saw Sura (31), a pharmacy dispenser, accidentally cause a rival contestant to lose four of his six miniature upside-down pineapple cakes when she swung her arm to hit a fly.
The show, which was pushed back for Boris Johnson’s televised address to the nation and aired straight after, averaged 6.9 million viewers and peaked at 7.9 million.
It was up more than a million on last year.
The 2019 opener drew an average of 5.7 million viewers, peaking at 6.6 million. The new series saw Little Britain star Matt Lucas replacing previous co-host Sandi Toksvig.
He made his debut in a skit mimicking the Prime Minister’s coronavirus briefings.
Loriea (27), a diagnostic radiographer from Durham, was axed at the end of the first episode after failing to impress judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood. Peter (20), an accounting and finance student from Edinburgh, was named star baker after crafting three successful bakes.
Amateur baker Mark Lutton (32) from Northern Ireland is among the contestants and survived the first week.
Now based in Liverpool, Portadown man Mark fell in love with baking through an Edinburgh pie shop he visited daily while at university.
Making his TV debut on Tuesday night Mark passed the signature challenge with his Turkish Bazaar Inspired Battenberg while his miniature upside-down pineapple cake was ranked highly in the technical.
His showstopper, a 3D spiced ginger cake bust of his celebrity hero Charles Darwin, was branded “lovely” by Leith and “wellbaked” by Hollywood, taking him through to Biscuit Week.
Speaking to the BBC ahead of the screening, Mark said he had previously applied for the show once before.
“It’s a fairly rigorous audition process.
“They really want to make sure that you know your stuff about baking and that you’re one of the best amateur bakers in the country really.”