Meltdowns, collapses, complete disintegration... and that’s just the cakes, as the heat is turned up higher than ever in the new series of The Great British Bake Off.
Paul Hollywood’s searing glare had nothing on the blazing heatwave during filming this summer, turning the Bake Off tent into one huge oven.
This year’s 12 bakers struggled to keep their cool as cakes flopped, sugar slid off and chocolate melted in the hottest conditions of the show’s nine years.
Paul’s fellow judge Prue Leith, 78, says: “Because of the heat they’d get their showstoppers ready for us to judge, we judged them and then they started falling apart. I kept saying to the cameraman, ‘I hope you’ve got that’, because it was a slow-motion collapse.
“We were putting them under huge pressure. Well, God was putting them under pressure with too much heat.”
Sandi Toksvig, 60, who hosts the show alongside Noel Fielding, 45, jokes: “There were a couple of showstopper suicides. Noel and I were working our a***s off to keep everybody calm.”
At one point a tea-towel caught alight, sending temperatures even higher. Sandi says: “There was a fire. We realised how calm we all were. I just watched.”
And Paul, 52, turned the heat up even further with his usual scalding stare and blistering observations. Prue says: “Old blue eyes has no idea he’s upsetting anybody.
“There’s been the odd meltdown, but Sandi and Noel are very good at comforting. They can see a mile away when somebody is getting upset.”
New challenges this year include vegan week, which gave Paul another reason to be grumpy. “It wasn’t his favourite week,” Prue says.
But Sandi says this year felt more relaxed than last year, adding: “I think there’s been more laughter in the tent.”
Prue also feels much more comfortable the second time around, after she, Sandi and Noel joined the show’s first season away from the BBC last year.
She says: “I loved last year and I didn’t necessarily think it would get any better, but it did. It was much more relaxed..”
But she admits being hurt by the trolling she got after accidentally revealing Sophie Faldo had won last year’s final before it had aired. She says: “It was very scary at the time and horrible. I had so many people saying, ‘You ruined my life, how could you?’”
That aside, she loves her job, saying: “Sandi and Noel never stop working. They write their own material, rehearse it, make sure the jokes work, they have to worry about the props for the links and then they’re in the tent all the time being therapists to the bakers.
“Paul and I walk in, eat cake, walk off, get paid. It’s really easy.”
Here are the 12 hopefuls in the new series, on Channel 4 next Tuesday...
I’d tell the cameramen ‘I hope you got that’ – it was a slow collapse PRU E LEITH ON MELTING BAKE OFF SHOWSTOPPERS
TEAM Noel Fielding, Sandi Toksvig, Prue Leith and, inset, Paul Hollywood
Name: Terry Age: 56 Job: Retired air steward From: West Midlands He first learned to bake with his grandmother and then his father taught him how to make bread and pastry when he was 10. His daughters persuaded him to apply for Bake Off.Name: Rahul Age: 30 From: Rotherham Job: Research scientist Grew up in India and moved to the UK on a university scholarship when he was 23. Once here, Rahul discovered new flavours and cuisines that have inspired his East-meets-West style of baking.
THERAPY Sandi with Terry
Name: Ruby Age: 29 Job: Project manager From: London The youngest of four children in an Indian family. At university Ruby cooked and baked for seven male housemates. Now she tries to sneak booze into whatever she is making. Name: Antony Age: 30 From: London Job: Banker Self-styled “Bollywood baker” Antony grew up in India and learned to bake with his father. He takes his research very seriously and once tasted 50 choux buns in one trip to Paris. Name: Karen Age: 60 Job: Store worker From: West Yorkshire Her love affair with baking began when she and her husband had a house in France. Now Karen can knock up profiteroles, tartes au citron, religieuse buns and eclairs to rival any French bakery. Name: Briony Age: 33 From: Bristol Job: Full-time parent A self-taught baker who uses YouTube tutorials to help learn specific techniques. The married mum-of-one is a whizz with puff pastry and has created wedding cakes for friends and family.Name: Kim-Joy Age: 27 Job: Mental health specialist From: Leeds With a birthday on World Baking Day, Kim-Joy believes she was destined to bake. Born in Belgium to an English dad and Malaysian– Chinese mum, she grew up in London and now lives in Leeds. Name: Dan Age: 36 From: London Job: Full-time parent Self-confessed perfectionist Dan aims to make his creations both delicious and beautiful. Looking after two kids at home for the past six years, baking has become part of his everyday life. Name: Luke Age: 30 Job: Civil servant and DJ From: Sheffield He used to help his nan bake, standing on a mini step-ladder to reach the worktop. Luke started baking independently aged 10, making Victoria sponges, fruit cobblers and chocolate cake.Name: Jon Age: 47From: Newport Job: Blood courier The dad of four loves to bake in the kitchen as a way to relax after a hard day’s work. Jon likes to wow friends and family with his creations and strives for something unique. Name: Manon Age: 26 Job: Software project chief From: London Born and raised in France, Manon discovered her passion for baking when she came to work in London as an au pair, after being blown away by the variety of bakeries to choose from there. Name: Imelda Age: 33 From: County Tyrone Job: Countryside recreation officer After learning to bake with her mother, she now spends her evenings and weekends making soda breads, biscuits and treats for her father and son.