As The Great British Bake Off kicks off again on Wednesday in its sixth series, we take a look at the ten best moments from the show over the past five years.
Baked Alaska-gate
The Baked Alaska scandal is undoubtedly one of the most memorable moments of the Great British Bake Off – with show producers even conceding that such a dramatic scene would be unlikely to happen again in the show. bearded baker Iain Watters went into meltdown, binned his dessert and exited the show after fellow contestant Diana removed it prematurely from the fridge – leaving it to go soggy.
The many faces of Ruby Tandoh
The ex-model and Essex student may not have won the 2013 GBBO, but she gained a lot of publicity – and a dedicated Tumblr – because of her countless facial expressions. With a furrowed brow or the occasional beaming smile as she concentrated on her craft, Ruby won thousands of admirers – but, unfortunately, earned many critics for her emotional display on screen.
Mary Berry’s weird and wonderful jackets
The Bake Off just wouldn’t be the same without 80-year-old judge Mary Berry’s bold choice in jackets. Whether it’s a bright lime hued blazer or a floral box-fitted number, the glamorous baker’s penchant for high street brands like Ted Baker, Oasis and Damart have seen sales rocket as viewers try to steal Mary’s trailblazing style.
Elbowed muffins
When Sue leaned casually on a teatowel while asking how Howard was getting on, she didn’t realise that his freshly baked muffins were sitting underneath it. The hapless presenter had to eat some humble pie and admit to poor Howard that she had tarnished his cakes – joking that she would sabotage the other contestants to make it even. Thankfully, the custard scandal next week took the edge off of Sue’s faux pas.
Stolen custard
A week after Sue squashed poor Howard's muffins, 51-year-old contestant Deborah Manger was blasted by judge Mary Berry after it transpired that she had stolen custard from Howard, whose recipe had been rated as the best effort of the day. She claimed that she had taken his bowl from the fridge by accident, but viewers were not convinced.
Norman and his ‘exotic pesto’
The retired Merchant Navy operator from Moray became a national treasure in the last series, winning the hearts of viewers with his old school, back-to-basics baking skills and words of wisdom. His stand out moment, however, was when he referred to pesto as ‘exotic.’
Soggy Bottoms
Comedians Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc have helped drive ratings for the Great British Bake Off with their humour and wit, but not everyone sees the funny side of their cheeky double entendres and saucy innuendo. The BBC received seven complaints about the pair’s smutty presenting style last year, with lines like ‘soggy bottoms,’ ‘hot baps’ and ‘perfect nuts’ getting viewers squirming in their seats.
Howard’s wacky baccy tea loaf
For sweet dough week in the fourth series, Howard made a date and hemp Yorkshire tea loaf, using cannabis flour and oil to make the cake. Mary made sure she got a good whiff of the ingredient before tasting the loaf, asking if the smelly substance was ‘a type of grass,’ as Sue gently explained that hemp is the legal extract of the plant.
Salt and sugar mix-up
John Whaite was lucky to be crowned the winner of the third series after a rather rocky start. The Wigan law graduate caused a stir when he accidentally used salt instead of sugar to dust off his 1970s style Jamaican Rum Babas, watching in horror as judge Paul Hollywood spat out the cake. All's well that ends well, John!
Full frontal squirrel nudity
Viewers got an eyeful after a well-endowed squirrel appeared in the garden scenes of the 2011 grand final episode of the show. Presenter Sue Perkins and writer Caitlin Moran took to Twitter after they had previewed the episode jokingly warning fans of the potentially scarring image – but a few disgruntled users suggested that the nutty display should have been edited out.
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