Icy reaction to Bake Off fridge stunt
VIEWERS of The Great British Bake Off have branded its new presenters irresponsible after one was filmed hiding inside a contestant’s fridge.
Twenty-eight viewers contacted regulator Ofcom to complain about the joke by Sandi Toksvig and Noel Fielding during Tuesday’s episode, warning that children would be at risk if they copied it.
And many more turned expressed their fury that Channel 4 would allow such a scene in a family favourite.
Neil Watkins demanded: ‘How stupid can you be? You should never shut people in a fridge! Children are watching this,’ while Alexander Fergusson-Cooper commented: ‘Outraged they’d show climbing into a fridge being fun. Super fun when kids do it and suffocate – nice one, Channel 4.’
Richard Townend said: ‘My daughter loves to watch Bake Off. I’ve just had to explain why she should never climb in a fridge. Can’t believe it got aired!’ and Calum Polwart added: ‘Children have died playing inside fridges and freezers. What was Channel 4 thinking of?’
An Ofcom spokesman said: ‘We will assess these complaints before deciding whether or not to investigate.’
But in a sign of shifting social values, the Bake Off stunt garnered four times more complaints than TV stars groping each other in Celebrity Big Brother last month, while just 15 were made about X-rated content on ITV2’s Love Island – although 24 did complain about contestants smoking.
Channel 4 did not comment.