THE baker involved in a Corrie star’s ‘cake gate’ scandal has hit back.
Catherine Tyldesley, 39, hit headlines this week after she was accused of trying to blag free birthday cakes – something she insists she knew nothing about.
Three Little Birds baker owner, Rebecca Severs, has broken her silence
Fans were less than impressed with the former soap opera’s message.
The Three Little Birds baker owner Rebecca Severs – known as Bec – shared an email exchange between her and a firm representing an unidentified star now revealed to be Catherine.
It asked for a 40th birthday cake, 100 cupcakes and an extra smaller birthday cake for her husband in return for exposure.
The soap star took to Instagram to share her side and slammed the baker for using her name for “exposure”.
Fans were quick to hit out, blasting her reply as “tone deaf”.
Now, Bec herself hit out, denying she shared the email to draw attention to herself.
She told the Mail: “I don’t have a huge social media following, so I thought it would just be a bit of fun.”
Bit the attention she’s gained from the post came regardless – with hundreds of new customers flocking to the shop.
Her staff are working into early hours of the morning to complete orders.
The bakery, in Keighley, West Yorkshire, now has hoards of hungry Brits, travelling from across the country, to queue outside and sample the famous cakes.
Bec added: “It’s gone better than I could ever have hoped,” she said.
“We’ve already had to recruit more staff, and we’ve had brilliant support from the local community.
“Keighley is a town full of friendly, supportive and close-knit people.”
A company organising a 40th bash for Catherine had approached Bec over a hefty order for two bespoke cakes.
Their brief included a request for a free cake for Catherine’s 40th birthday – which falls in September – with a theme of “pinks, sparkles and a touch of flamingos”.
A second freebie cake was requested for Catherine’s husband, photographer Tom Pitfield, and 100 extra cupcakes.
In a tongue in cheek reply, Rebecca, owner of Three Little Birds Bakery in Keighley, West Yorkshire, wrote back: “I’m so sorry to hear that your client has fallen on such hard times they can’t afford to pay small businesses their products.
“Unfortunately as my mortgage provider doesn’t take payment ‘in the form of promotion on their socials’, and my staff can’t feed their kids with exposure on Instagram, I’ll have to decline your very generous offer.”
After Catherine was revealed to be the star the cakes were for, she took to Instagram claiming she had “no idea” the emails were being sent.
Catherine took a swipe at the baker telling followers: “Cake gate. What? Um, utterly bizarre, I don’t really know what to say. I mean, I hope the cake lady got the exposure she was craving.”
Taking to the comment section in Catherine’s latest Instagram post, one fan didn’t hold back as they wrote: “Three years ago we were applauding the NHS.
“Now z list celebrities are trying to steal free products from struggling small businesses and then really stick the knife in with a vile post calling the bakery out for attention seeking. Wow.”
Another wrote: “How about you address the fact that people are asking for freebies and lying on your behalf – instead of having a go at someone being asked to work hard and provide you with stuff for free!”
A third penned: “Your response to the “cake lady” was absolutely disgraceful. You are accountable for the actions of your team and trying to do harm to a small business when they won’t give you a freebie is a joke.”
Keighley bakery owner who refused to make 100 cakes for Catherine
