A former contestant from The Great British Bake Off admitted ‘I did feel a bit sick’.
A contestant on The Great British Bake Off has revealed a moment that left him feeling “sick”.
The fan-favourite baking competition has returned to Channel 4, with 12 amateur bakers hoping to impress Paul Hollywood and new judge Nigella Lawson, who has replaced Dame Prue Leith.
In the first episode of this series, the bakers were tasked with making Nigella’s stout cake and a self-portrait showstopper, and despite two creations collapsing onto the floor, no one was sent home after contestant Shannon had to quit the challenge halfway through on medical advice.
Ahead of biscuit week tonight, Tuesday 29 September, one contestant has recalled his own experience on the show. Howard Middleton took part in the fourth series back in 2013, but was devastatingly sent home during week six.
He’s now revealed that before filming even began, there was a moment that left him feeling sick. Speaking on behalf of Smooth Spins, Howard shared his first impression of the famous white tent.
He said: “It’s interesting because you get two shots of it. So, we were ferried from the hotel to the tent in a little minibus, and you just see the tent emerging from the minibus, and it’s at that point you sort of think, ‘Oh God, I feel a bit sick!’ That’s when it starts to feel real.
“When you actually go into the tent the first time, you get a tour, where someone explains how the ovens work and the hobs and everything around the kitchen. I just remember thinking that I hadn’t understood a word that you’d just said because I was so in awe of actually being in the tent.
“Even after the explanation, I still kept having to ask how to work the oven and the hob afterwards. It’s very overwhelming, and I did feel a bit sick.”
He went on to talk about meeting his fellow bakers, revealing they only met the night before. Howard continued: “Obviously we’ve all gone through the audition process, and you’ve met certain people along the way, but it’s not until the night before you actually start filming that you know who’s got into the tent. It may be that you’ve met one or two of them, or you remember seeing them during the auditions, but most of the time they’re strangers, really.
“On the first night when you meet everyone, you can make up your mind about them. Sometimes people can be very loud if you are out for dinner or something, and you start to understand what they will be like in the tent.”
After their first impressions of each other, Howard shared that the bakers did spend time together when the cameras stopped rolling, though he admitted that his time on the show was likely different to now. Back then, the contestants stayed in a hotel further from the tent, whereas he claimed that now, due to security reasons, they stay much closer.
He went on: “And the security is much tighter than it was. We were free to go out for meals together in the evening, although, to be perfectly honest, you’re so tired by the time you’ve finished a day of filming that you really don’t want to socialise that much.
“We also realised that those of us who would be catching up at the hotel bar late at night – none of us made it through to the finals! So if there’s a lesson to be learned, it’s don’t go out the night before!”
The Great British Bake Off continues tonight at 8pm on Channel 4



