Are public outbursts a crying shame?

QUEEN of baking Mary Berry has revealed she didn’t approve when contestants burst into tears on The Great British Bake Off. The 81-year-old former judge on the baking show urged anyone tempted to cry on TV to instead learn to “gather themselves up and keep going”. We asked our Email Jury if they agreed that too much emotion is shown in public these days, and whether they felt a stiff upper lip or a better out than in approach was better.

There is a time and a place for such outbursts, but in full public vie w is not one of the m. You ge t more re spe ct if you show some backbone . William McGurk, East Kilbride.

In my opinion much of it is false e motion – crying whe n a ce le brity die s, crying whe n you lose and e ve n whe n you win. The y don’t warrant te ars. Le t’s ke e p the e motion for pe rsonal tragedies. James Walker, Glenrothes.

No one minds genuine e motion but te ars at the drop of a hat are embarrassing and unne ce ssary. Susan Ireland, Kendal.

If more e motion was shown in public the world would be a be tte r place . Joseph Clancy, Glasgow.

I am all for showing e motion but the re asons should be good e nough to warrant it. Frustration should not be one of the m. Bea Smith, Doncaster.

Some time s it is hard to keep emotions under control, but I don’t think TVprogrammes should invoke such trauma. It is just a reality show when all is said and done . I am with Mary on this! Joan Fordyce, Forfar.

In public the stiff upper lip approach is best. Later, in private, it’s okay to let the tears flow. Liz Kelly, Glasgow.

Mary is dead right. The only time to shed tears over a bit of baking is if you don’t get to sample it. James Strachan, Aberdeenshire.

I don’t think people necessarily need to have a stiff upper lip – they just shouldn’t make a fool of themselves. Julie Doughty, York.

Emotion is often shown on television because people are under the stress of being watched by millions of viewers. Allison Scotland, Roxburghshire.