It’s been a week since the Great British Bake Off ended, and it has slowly started to sink in that we shall never again watch Mary Berry seductively eat a piece of cake, inspect for soggy bottoms or send someone a disapproving look when she believes them to be doing the wrong thing. Nor shall we enjoy Mel and Sue’s puns or hear the infamous words of ‘Get Set, Bake!’ At risk of sounding melodramatic or having no life, I am devastated.
“It was fun while it lasted” we say sadly, as we flick through the channels looking for something to watch on a cold Wednesday evening, slowly freezing to death in our student homes. It was fun. It was six years of salivating over three tiered cakes and ‘ooing’ at the sight of a jam tart.
Although I admit I wasn’t as emotionally invested in this years final, mainly because Selasi was sent home in the semi-finals, I did shed a little tear as the credits began to roll. Although you can argue that it’s not entirely dead since it will be back in a different format next year, it just feels like it won’t be the same. Without Mel, Sue or Mary, the show will undoubtedly lose its charm, even if Paul and his icy stare remains the same.
This is a show which has produced faces we all know and love, most particularly Nadiya Hussain, last year’s winner. I am unashamed to say that I cried when she made her speech upon winning: ‘I’m never gonna put boundaries on myself ever again. I’m never gonna say I can’t do it. I’m never gonna say ‘maybe’. I’m never gonna say, ‘I don’t think I can.’ I can and I will.’
It may seem to some that it’s just a baking competition and not a big deal, but it has created stars and given people a platform to showcase their talents. In the case of Nadiya it gave her confidence in her convictions, which is a pretty amazing thing. I mean, if you can get Mary Berry to cry on TV you’re certainly doing something right.
I’m sure Candice and her assortment of coloured lipsticks will go far, as the last winner of GBBO on BBC, and with any luck, the new Bake Off on Channel Four will go some way to fill the cake shaped hole in our lives, but I fear that, like Top Gear, once you remove its key members, you lose the sparkle.
So, to GBBO – thanks for the memories, the inspiration, and the comforting feeling of watching you, but not so many thanks for making me crave cake!
Emily Harbottle
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Media sourced from RadioTimes, The Telegraph, The Guardian and BBC.
