The BBC has caused fresh controversy after its new Great British Bake Off line-up contained not a single Scot.

The 12 amateur British bakers in the mix for the new series includes one from Wales, a Northern Irishman and ten from England - but nobody from north of Gretna.

The show which challenges amateurs from across Britain to produce a range of mouthwatering creations that are judged by bakers Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood has become one of the most watched on television since it was first aired six years ago.

The Herald:

Series 7 contestants

But the absence of any Scot has baffled Alan Clarke, chief executive of Scottish Bakers, the voice of the baking industry north of the border, who said the line-up for Britain's favourite amateur baking show was unrepresentative.

In the last series there were two Scots in the line up.

Flora Shedden, 19, from Perthshire, who was 2015's youngest baker just missed out on a place in the grand final after becoming the ninth baker to leave the tent. Also among the dozen was Marie Campbell, 66, who was star baker in the first episode then eliminated in the second week.

Mr Clarke said: "The market, for people who bake at home, is alive and well in Scotland. Not having a Scottish entrant in Bake Off is not reflective of home baking or the bakery industry in Scotland.

"Obviously Scotland has a smaller population than England but has the second largest national population in the UK and I think it would enrich the competition had there been Scottish entrants.

"It's a pity because there was a lovely young girl in it last year. "I don't know the process, and I would be amazed if they didn't try to get Scottish entrants this year. I am not sure why they didn't make the mark."

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Bake Off's popularity - its peak audience was 14.5m, the largest TV audience of 2015 - has spun off into sales of baking products.

Morrisons recently said it saw a 163 per cent rise in sales of glace cherries and 110 per cent rise for almond extract as the 2015 Bake Off season was broadcast.

The show - which saw a peak of 14.5m people watching Nadiya Hussain win last year's final, the largest TV audience of 2015 - has already faced criticism over the of using "gendered" colours to men and women unnecessarily.

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Publicity photographs for this year's Bake Off contestants showed women wielding mixing bowls and spoons with pink icing, while men had blue.

Fans immediately spotted the difference, taking to Twitter to protest at the "nonsense" presentation of the six men and six women in the 2016 series.

Previous Bake Off controversies include the so-called Baked Alaska-gate, in 2014’s series five, when contestant Diane Beard was filmed taking rival Iain Watters dessert out of a freezer in what was claimed was an act of sabotage.

The BBC received more than 500 complaints about the outcome of the episode, which saw Iain Watters eliminated after presenting the judges with a melted Baked Alaska in a bin.

The Herald: Iain Watters has become the latest contestant to exit The Great British Bake Off

In series four, Howard Middleton saw his custard accidentally pinched by a mortified Deborah Manger, who used it on her own trifle.

The current crop of bakers include Rav Bansal, a 28-year-old student support officer from Kent and the show's first Sikh vegan baker and a Tom Gilliford, a 26-year-old from London, a former Oxford graduate who has shed a dramatic 30 kilos in weight.

There's Jane Beedle, a 61-year-old garden designer from Beckenham, London; Val Stones, a 66-year-old semi-retired teacher from Yeovil, Somerset; Candice Brown, a 23-year-old teaching assistant from south London and Michael Georgiou, a 20-year-old Durham University student from London.

The Herald:

Added to the mix is Benjamina Ebuehi, a 23-year-old teaching assistant from south London; Andrew Smyth, a 25-year-old aerospace engineer originally from Northern Ireland and Louise Williams, a 46-year-old hairdresser from Cardiff.

Completing the line-up are Kate Barmby, a 37-year-old nurse from Norfolk; Lee Banfield, a 67-year-old pastor from Bolton and Selasi Gbormittah a 30-year-old client service associate from London.

The BBC were approached for comment but failed to respond.