Behind scenes at The Great British Bake Off
Producers set up a quarantined camp with military efficiency to ensure viewers can enjoy a Covid-free experience on show
Contestants kept in a quarantine camp to ensure show goes on
BAKE Off contestants practised d with quarantined flour before re moving into a “biosphere” with the e presenters and crew to make the e new series.
Instead of filming at weekends, the he 12 bakers had to take time off work, k, move out of their homes and stay in a sterile bubble in an Essex hotel.
The usual 12-week shooting schedule le was squashed into six weeks with h everyone involved, plus extra cleaners, s all living on site.
And judge Prue Leith, who brought her cavalier spaniels Tattie and Teasle along, said it was “the safest place to be”.
She said: “Honestly, I ended up thinking this is the safest place in the whole of England.
“All 130 people, which included the hotel staff and all of the crew and all the support staff and all the bakers, we all had been tested to death.
“We had our temperatures taken every morning. And so, when we were in the tent, we were allowed to behave absolutely freely.
“That was great because that meant that the viewer will see a Bake Off like they are used to. There won’t be masks and social distancing and all that sort of inhibiting stuff. It would have been really difficult to do Bake Off without being friendly.”
Back in April, the producers realised the only way they could film the new series was to create a sealed community with super-strict hygiene regulations. With lockdown wel l under way, they told the contestants about the new plans.
And, as the rest of the country filled their time making s ourdough and banana bread, the producers scoured
corner shops and restaurants for flour so the contestants could keep practising their pastry, bread and buns.
Producer Letty Kavanagh said: “Our cleaners cleaned all the packages, left them under UV lights, and they were then packaged and sent by courier. When the packages arrived, the bakers then had to clean them again.”
The show’s usual location, a tent in the grounds of Welford Park in Newbury, was binned in favour of a country house hotel in Essex. They brought the famous tent with them, plus smaller tents for the bakers to practise in on their days off.
Before anyone came into the biosphere, they had to spend nine days in isolation and register two negative Covid tests.
If they were isolating with family, they were tested too. On arrival, they were tested again and had to isolate in their rooms or wear a mask until the test returned a negative result.
A team of cleaners, who were on site
for the six-week shoot, disinfected all the luggage, food and deliveries before they entered the estate.
Richard McKerrow, chief executive at Love Productions which makes the show, said: “The guidelines that were developed to be able to film Bake Off this year are extraordinary. The list is longer than the Bible.”
Noel Fielding came with his pregnant partner, radio presenter Lliana Bird, and their two-year-old daughter Dali.
New presenter Matt Lucas came alone and loved the experience. Creative director Kieran Smith said. “We had golf buggies for transporting people around the site and he got his own buggy.
“He can’t drive but the freedom to pootle about, look at the trees and get a bit of fresh air was huge for him.”
There was one sweaty moment when someone told the on-site medics that they had symptoms that could have been Covid.
They were isolated immediately, along with everyone who had been in close contact with them. But their test came back negative and filming resumed the next day. The show, which starts next Tuesday, was filmed under such strict conditions that Paul Hollywood was even allowed to give his famous handshake. But only if the baking was good enough. Smith said: “I think it’s perfectly OK to say that Hollywood handshakes were certainly possible. Whether any were offered, you’ll have to wait and see.” This week’s Radio Times is out now.