Bake Off for beginners: Novice Stacey hopes to rise to the challenge
Great Celebrity Bake Off contestant Stacey Dooley has admitted the last time she baked was at school. The documentary-maker and TV host, 33, described herself as “massively inexperienced” and said she expected to be the weakest contestant on the charity show for Stand Up To Cancer.
Actor James Mcavoy, actress Daisy Ridley, double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes, actor and comedian John Bishop, author and TV star David Baddiel and Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall all feature on this series of the Channel 4 spin-off.
Stacey said she didn’t mind potentially embarrassing herself on television as it was for charity.
She said: “I’m particularly bad. I definitely think I’ll be the weakest on the show but, you know what, we’re here to raise money so we just need to make as much money as possible and raise awareness, and it’s all for charity so you sort of don’t mind making an a*** of yourself because it’s for a good cause.”
She added: “I don’t know if I have any strengths when it comes to baking. My weakness is that I’m massively inexperienced. I don’t bake at all. The last time I thought about baking was probably at school.”
Stacey reckoned she was the only person who had not used lockdown to embrace home baking.“and that’s the ridiculous thing. The whole country’s been bloody baking,” she said.“that’s all we’ve been doing. I’m the only person in the UK who hasn’t been baking religiously since March. I think people reckon I’m exaggerating. I honestly have never baked as an adult.”
Stacey, who won Strictly Come Dancing in 2018 alongside now-boyfriend Kevin Clifton, said she had failed to do any preparation ahead of filming.
“That was very foolish because I’m getting the impression the people I’ll be in the tent with may have been practising – certainly a couple of them. It’s not the first time they’ve done it, but for me I’m coming at it totally fresh. But actually, I wonder if that’ll make me better.
“I’ll be so reliant on the recipe. It’s all about precision isn’t it, so maybe it’ll help that I’ll stick so firmly to the recipe. And I won’t be complacent because I know I’ll have to pull it out of the bag.”
Each of the five episodes will see four celebrities battle it out over three rounds – the signature, the technical and the showstopper – in a bid to be crowned star baker. Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood will be judging the bakes while host Matt Lucas will also return to the tent.
The Great Celebrity Bake Off For Stand Up To Cancer, Tuesday, 8pm, Channel 4