First time I tried baking, the school had to be evacuated
TV presenter Joel Dommett’s star is on the rise.. but he admits Celebrity Bake Off fans will see that his culinary skills aren’t on the same level
LET’S hope Joel Dommett has improved his baking skills since the first time he tried – and nearly burnt his school down. The 34-year-old Masked Singer host enters the famous Bake Off tent tomorrow for Channel 4’s third celebrity charity special.
And we reckon judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood may have more to worry about than soggy bottoms when it comes to Joel’s attempts.
The presenter admitted: “I love eating baking but I’ve never made it before.
“I’ve essentially attempted to bake twice in my life. The first one was food tech at school. I remember putting chocolate in the microwave to melt it and I left it in there for, like, 15 minutes. I opened the microwave, smoke came billowing out, and the whole school had to be evacuated.
“And the second time, I was trying to make a meringue for a girlfriend. It didn’t rise. It felt like I ended up going, ‘Hey, here’s a romantic offering of PVA Glue.’”
Joel will join actress Caroline Quentin, tennis player Johanna Konta and fashion guru Tan France for The Great British Bake Off for Stand up to Cancer.
Hosts Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig will be on hand to provide tea and sympathy for the celebrity bakers as they go head to head in the pressure-filled tent.
It’s the latest reality show Joel has been on. In 2016, he was runner-up to Scarlett Moffatt in I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! and, after she missed out this week in the tent with
Inbetweeners star James Buckley being crowned star baker, Joel joked he hopes to do one better than her in the baking.
He said: “She beat me in the jungle, so it would be nice to beat her in Bake Off but I’m used to being second to her first, so I’m happy with that.
“I’d like to be star baker but I don’t really mind if I’m not.
“Like all this showbiz life, I’m just happy to be taking part.”
Given he rates himself “a nought” out of 10 when it comes to baking, we aren’t expecting much from Joel’s signature bake, the technical challenge or his showstopper.
He did try to prepare, though – and got his parents to help out.
Joel, who married model Hannah Cooper last year, added: “I did a day of baking with my parents. They’re both great chefs and helped me along a little bit.”
He doesn’t sound like a man who’s going to be star baker and Joel is happy to admit he’s just glad to be on a show that is the perfect kind of TV for the times we are living in.
He said: “It’s just the most endearing, wonderful show. It’s just so weird to be
Everyone wants Paul to love them.. he’s the villain
JOEL DOMMETT ON IMPRESSING THE JUDGES
in the tent. It’s like a weird dream but it’s great.”
Like all bakers – celebrities or members of the public – a Hollywood handshake is sometimes better than winning.
And Joel, who claims he knows nothing about a second series of The Masked Singer – which was won last month by Girls Aloud’s Nicola Roberts as Queen Bee – is no different.
He said: “I think everyone wants Paul to love them, because he’s the villain of the pantomime.
“With Prue, you know that if Paul is nasty, Prue will just tap you on the shoulder and give you a bit of advice. She’s an absolute sweetheart. I just wanted to impress Paul.”
Joel revealed viewers will see the tent split into two.
He said: “Caroline and I were the naughty kids at the back of the class. And then you had the two at the front of the class who were very competitive.”
Regardless of what happens in the tent, Joel will keep on laughing.
It’s no wonder he’s being called the new Dermot O’Leary – not just because, like the X Factor host, he has a natural, easy-going charm – but because Joel is well on his way to being a TV mainstay.
He was guest announcer on Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway at the weekend.
And tomorrow, he will take part in not one but two primetime TV shows – firstly on Bake Off at 8pm and then, at 9pm, he’ll host new series Comedy Against Living Miserably, on Dave.
The latter is a stand-up comedy series to raise money for the Campaign Against Living Miserably – an anti-suicide charity – which Joel filmed last month only days after his friend Caroline Flack’s suicide.
As the UK deals with the new normal of self-isolation, mental health – our own and that of others – is something Joel feels is important to discuss.
He said: “Men find it particularly difficult to talk about their feelings because there is a stigma that we are strong and we are faultless and powerful.
“I think actually that’s not the case at all – we’re all vulnerable and the sooner we realise that and the sooner we communicate that to each other, the better.”
Tomorrow’s show will see Joel talk about Caroline, who took her own life amid domestic abuse allegations.
He read out a sample of the abusive tweets he’d received the previous week and pleaded with people to be nicer to each other.
Social media is often cited as having a negative impact on mental health and Joel has experienced the worst of it.
He said: “If you want to know something, you can find out immediately on social media.
“On the other hand, there is so much pressure to be perfect and it is so easy to be horrible to everyone, and sometimes it just feels good to make people feel horrible sometimes.
“From the perspective of someone who gets that hate, it’s not very nice. So next time you want to say a horrible thing online – flip that frown upside down and say something nice.”