THE Great British Bake Off kicks off tonight and while there may be a variety of soggy bottoms on screen – there’s some tasty action backstage too.
Here we delve deep into the mouth-watering secrets of the Channel 4 show which will leave you simply craving more.
WHERE IS THE TV TENT?
The iconic cooking space – decked out with spotless workspace and every kitchen appliance you could dream of – is housed in Welford Park, Berkshire.
Filming is held there every April.
The lush green surroundings were reportedly chosen because former show judge Mary Berry enjoyed them.
HOW MUCH TENT TIME IS THERE?
Judge Paul Hollywood revealed to a Bake Off press conference a whopping 12 hour shoot was considered “a short day” on the series.
The Golden Handshake-giver gave detail on the hours of homemade goodies and said: “We try and get together as much as we can but sometimes we’re shattered.
“If it’s been a really late one we’re all just saying, ‘I’m going to get room service.”
BOOZE BUDDIES
Yet when the team DO get together, booze is on the Bake Off agenda.
Judge Prue Leith let slip on the drinking sessions and told Closer magazine: “If Paul has his way he will buy a really good bottle of champagne for everybody else, and he will drink beer.
“He did that a lot.”
BEAUTIFUL BAKES
While some of the dishes are disasters others are works of art.
Yet a LOT of backstage work goes on to make some bakes so beautiful.
Series four baker Ali Imdad told the Birmingham Mail a huge amount of time is spent on “beauty shots.”
He told the publication: “The baking is filmed as you do it by six cameras moving around the tent, though if they don’t catch something, like you whisking, you might have to do it again.
“If someone fluffs a line during the judging, they will do retakes.
“Or if you said something and they didn’t quite catch, they will ask you to say it again.”
He added when dishes were ready to come out of the oven, a producer had to be flagged.
He said: “That’s the golden rule.
“You had to hail a producer who would make sure you were being filmed.
“Generally there’s quite a natural flow, but on the very first day of filming we were in the tent for 16 hours.”
SPARKLING CLEAN
Ever wondered what happened to the millions of mixing bowls used each season?
Well, one lucky lady – Iva Vcelak – washes up for a total of 160 hours each series, according to Radio Times.
In 2014, she used 1,000 J-Cloths to get the iconic tent sparkling clean.
BAKER’S BANK
Bake Off’s 2017 winner Sophie Faldo has revealed contestants get an allowance for their treats – but may have to bring some from home.
She told Radio Times: “You’re sent all the briefs around six weeks before you start filming.
“Then you have to send back your recipes. As long as you stick to the briefs, you can do what you like in terms of ingredients.
“There were a few people who had to do a last minute run to the shop!”
She added: “Most of the stuff they do prep for you, but for example, I had some Yemenese honey, I’d brought it from the Middle East that I’d bought along specially because it’s not something they could have got themselves.”
AMAZING ART
Prior to the contestants’ fully-baked creations being revealed, a perfectly-sketched piece of art is aired and gives an impression of what the baker intended it to look like.
The man poised with his pencil is Tom Hovey, who draws the images from a pack of photographs of the finished food.
He told the BBC: “I receive a pack of photos of the finished bakes from the set after each episode has been filmed that I use for reference.
“I sketch out all the bakes quickly in pencil to get the details, form and shape I am after.
“I then work these up by hand drawing them all in ink, then they’re scanned and coloured digitally, and then I add the titles and ingredient arrows. It’s a fairly well streamlined process now.”
HOSTS WITH THE MOSTS
Returning to the show is veteran host Noel Fielding.
He is joined by Matt Lucas, who took over hosting duties from Sandi Toksvig on the 2020 season.
You can catch the action on Tuesday September 21, 2021 at 8pm.
Episodes will then continue to air every Tuesday at the same time on Channel 4.
You can catch up with any missed episodes on All 4.
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