How Bake Off boys piled on pounds
IF watching the Great British Bake Off had an unhealthy effect on your waistline thanks to all the cakes it inspired you to make, spare a thought for the contestants.
The three finalists have confessed they piled on more than 4st between them during filming, with winner John Whaite releasing a photograph of himself when he was younger – and slimmer – to prove it.
The 23-year-old said he ‘ballooned’ during the competition, putting on a stone-and-a-half because of the cakes, pies and pastries he made and sampled.
He told BBC Breakfast: ‘I put on a stone-and-a-half. I had to exercise it off. If you are going to indulge you have to make sure you work it off.’
The former law student cuts a rather leaner figure in a picture he posted on Twitter. He captioned the image, which shows him topless save for a bow tie: ‘Seeing this old pic makes me regret my 5th mille feuille of today!’
Fellow finalist James Morton admitted he had put on 2st, while Brendan Lynch said he had gained 10lbs over the two months of filming.
And then there were those watching at home, many of whom complained that they couldn’t get through the show without eating something sweet.
Mr Whaite emerged as the surprise champion in the all-male final, winning over the judges with his lavish and elabo-
‘I get up at 6am and bake bread’
probably going to make a chocolate fondant cake. I’ve got a tiny little kitchen but as long as you’ve got an oven and a whisk you can bake anything you like’
This series of the BBC2 show has been the most popular yet, with a record peak audience of 6. million and an average of 6.1million tuning in to watch Tuesday night’s final.
It beat shows on all the other main channels including Holby City on BBC1, which peaked at 5.1million. Insiders said such high ratings meant the it was already being considered for a move to the main channel.
A BBC source said: ‘Viewing figures of six and seven million mean a move to the flagship channel has to be looked at.
‘The figures for the final are higher than the recent series of Doctor Who – even Karen Gillan’s exit only pulled in 5.9million.’