Alison Hammond admitted that she can’t resist the treats cooked up on Bake Off, while one of her co-stars admits trying to show “discipline” as a new series is set to begin
Ahead of the Great British Bake Off’s 17th series, which presenter Alison Hammond has promised will be the “most dramatic ever,” her co-star Noel Fielding has revealed why he rarely eats any of the cakes made by contestants.
Speaking to Scott Mills on BBC Radio 2’s Romesh Ranganathan Show today (Sept 19) he revealed that he’d eaten quite a lot of cakes during his first season on the show, back in 2017. However, shortly after filming was completed on that year’s Bake Off, Noel won the role of 1970s shock-rocker Alice Cooper in a TV film called The Dali and the Cooper.
He explained that he would be appearing shirtless in a few scenes, and that he was told he would need to lose three stone before shooting began. Noel said that since then he has tried to resist the temptation to sample all of the bakes.
This year, Alison said: “Noel only ate once in the whole series.”
Noel also let slip that he had visited new Bake Off Judge Nigella Lawson before shooting began and she told him she had baked him a cake. Because she had sworn off sweet treats for several months before the visit, the sugar rush from the cake had him “hallucinating,” he said.
Nigella’s arrival has introduced a new level of drama to the show, Alison said, but her predecessor Prue Leith is sorely missed. The loss of Prue had been “bittersweet,” she said. “We didn’t want to let her go.”
Another Bake Off regular has shed some weight between seasons, Alison says. Veteran judge Paul Hollywood, the only original remaining member of the team who has been with the show since the outset, has “lost a bit of timber” and is looking particularly good.
But, for her part, Alison never misses out on a chance for a bit of cake, especially if it has been given the Paul Hollywood seal of approval: “If there’s a handshake I’m going in,” she said.
Alison has also done some baking of her own behind the scenes, she said, proudly telling Scott that she had earned done of the coveted “Hollywood Handshakes’ herself after making a bread & butter pudding for the production team.
Much of the food on show in the iconic tent is actually just for display purposes. Cast and crew are warned: “Don’t eat the displays,” even though the set looks “as delectable as a cricket cream tea,” one visitor revealed.
Noel Fielding reinforced the warning to visiting journalist Boudicca Fox Leonard while she was “eyeing up the set dressing of sponge fingers, party rings and jars of marshmallows.
“They are not to be touched,” cautioned Fielding, who has been hosting the show since 2017. “Alison found that out the hard way,” he hinted, suggesting his co-star couldn’t resist trying the props.
Much of the food, he pointed out, isn’t even edible. Some items are made from polystyrene, while others have been left sitting around for weeks, months or even years.
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