How new Bake Off rose to the occasion
Why Britain still loves the popular cake show despite its much criticised move with a fresh team to Channel 4
WHEN The Great British Bake Off moved from the BBC to Channel 4 and lost three-quarters of its stars, critics predicted it would fall as flat as a pancake. Well, they are certainly having to eat their words now because the programme has risen with all the perfection of a Paul Hollywood masterpiece.
Tomorrow night’s grand final will be the icing on the cake. Up to 11 million viewers are expected to tune in to see if bookies’ favourite Steven Carter-Bailey can beat off the challenge of the consistent Sophie Faldo or dark horse Kate Lyon.
Over on BBC One, Bake Off had become Britain’s bestwatched show with almost 15 million tuning in to last year’s final. When Channel 4 outbid the BBC last year by offering the programme makers an eyewatering £75million for a threeyear deal, it seemed to be a recipe for disaster.
Out went sponge cake queen and national treasure Mary Berry plus popular long-time presenters Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc. In came restaurateur and cookery writer Prue Leith, with Danish-born comedienne Sandi Toksvig and the distinctly strange-looking comic Noel Fielding as presenters. Only the perma-tanned silver fox Hollywood remained from the hugely successful original line-up.
Against all predictions, the new Bake Off team has proved to be the perfect mixture. Every week an average of nine million viewers have tuned in – down from the 13 million it achieved on the BBC but still Channel 4’s biggest audience for more than six years.
Remarkably, this season has been watched by an average of 2.5million people aged between 16 and 34. A delighted Channel 4 spokesman said: “Bake Off is a massive success in its new home, delivering record audiences, boosting investment in our public service programming and is the biggest series for young viewers on any channel on British television so far this year.”
SECRET of its continuing success? The producers wisely decided that changing the regular line-up was as far as they could go. The show’s winning format – the chirpy incidental music, the marquee in an English countryside setting – remained unchanged.
Toksvig and Fielding, to whom fans have warmed, have maintained the same high standard of silliness as Mel and Sue (though viewers complained when Fielding rashly hid in a fridge). The naughty but nice innuendo flowed on. So did the puns. Endlessly.
Prue Leith realised she could never hope to compete with demure ice maiden Berry so didn’t even try. Viewers have taken to her slightly schoolma’am-ish style, chunky jewellery and statement specs. Hollywood continued his flour-power role and it turned out to be just what viewers wanted.
So were nail-biting moments such as mother-of-three Stacey Hart slamming her oven door so hard it came off in her hands. She was crowned baker of the week but sadly didn’t make it past the semi-finals.
Fears ad breaks would spoil the flow of the show proved unfounded. Channel 4 extended it to 75 minutes so there is still a whole hour of baking from Welford Park in Berkshire.
Deciding the final three must have been one of the toughest decisions judges have had to make. The standard has been exceptional with some unforgettable creations – such as Steven Carter-Bailey’s bread handbag, Kate Lyon’s meringue rainbow and grandmother Flo Atkins’s watermelon illusion cake. One disappointment was when Liam Charles, at 19 the youngest baker, was knocked out in the quarter-finals. His tears tugged at viewers’ heartstrings.
PAST winners have become successful. John Whaite, from series three, runs a cookery school and Nadiya Hussain, from series six, is a TV presenter and author.
Who will be crowned star of the kitchen tomorrow? It’s five years since a man won so Steven, 34, from Watford who works in marketing, is tipped by punters. His biscuit chess board looked too good to eat.
Sophie, 33, from West Molesey, Surrey, is a former Royal Artillery officer turned trainee stunt woman. Best dish: her trifle terrine showstopper.
The outsider is health and safety inspector Kate, 29, from Merseyside. Her toffee apple caramel cake was so impressive Prue asked for the recipe.
It’s the nail-biting uncertainty, where success hinges on unpredictables such as the consistency of the dough mix or the steadiness of a contestant’s hands, that is the heart of Bake Off’s enduring appeal.
The good news is that Channel 4 is to show two Bake Off Christmas specials, in which former contestants compete against each other. The channel is keeping a tight lid on exactly who’ll be taking part.
One thing’s for sure: millions of us will be tuning in at 8 o’clock tomorrow night for a slice of the action. So on your marks, get set… watch!