The Great British Bake Off

Bake Off fans were ‘gutted’ as one star had to leave the tent for good

It was an agonising moment for one Great British Bake Off star.

The line-up for the quarter finals was confirmed during the latest episode on Tuesday, November 3 following a decision by the judges. Paul Hollywood and Nigella Lawson were once again on hand to provide comments and criticism as they chose who should make it as part of the final five contestants.

The competition entered its seventh week as the pressure mounted on the remaining contenders. Hosted by Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond, the bakers were first challenged in the signature to serve up gluten-free, dairy-free or vegan delicacies in what was dubbed ‘party week’.

This task aimed to prove that different foods can still be full of flavour, despite any special dietary requirements. The first challenge saw them make “delicious gluten free laminated pastries, perfect for a children’s party”.

One effort, Mo’s toastie parcels, even received a handshake from Paul Hollywood. Nigella added: “I salute Paul saluting you.” While for the technical challenge was set by Nigella.

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They were made to use some ingredients they may not have expected as Alison explained the judges wanted them to create an “adorable animal cake”. Essentially a plant-based chocolate cake, Noel added it had to include ganache and butter cream, while they had to go for a lucky dip to decide which design they would have to create.

Tom, who was star baker last week, came out on top again. Nigella commented: “Oh, it’s getting quite boring.” All that was left was the showstopper, which saw the bakers make a “spectacular children’s birthday cake”.

It had to be either dairy free, gluten free, or plant based and also have an interactive element. Although they could choose their type of sponge and flavours.

While Gabe was named star baker for his bug party cake, Paul and Nigella ultimately chose to send home Gary. The 67-year-old from Nottinghamshire said an emotional goodbye before leaving the tent as they responded: “No worries.”

The retired garment technologist added: “I’m very proud. It was my time to go. This was probably one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life.” That means, the quarter-final line-up includes: Connie Lewis, Gabe Capes, Mo Mahirr, Moyin Odeniran and Tom Whittaker.

Channel 4 viewers watching along at home wasted no time before sharing their own view on the results and latest elimination. One posted on social media: “Gutted for Gary going to miss him but i’m glad Connie got through.”

Another added: “Much as I love Connie, Gary’s showstopper was much better. Totally unfair.” While someone else replied:”So happy for Gabe!! I did think it was Gary’s time but he was a lovely guy.”

Meanwhile, some dedicated fans had similar complaints as previous weeks as they were unconvinced with the nature of some challenges. One person said: “Hate to say it but some of the themes for bake off this series have been questionable.” Someone agreed: “Nahhh two cakes in a non cake week is boring.”

The Great British Bake Off continues next Tuesday at 8pm on Channel 4 and streaming online.

A fifth baker has left The Great British Bake Off tent after failing to impress Paul and Nigella during Dessert Week

The latest contestant has been eliminated from The Great British Bake Off after a major change.

The Channel 4 show is already in its fifth week, with the remaining hopefuls taking on Dessert Week during Tuesday’s Bake Off episode (October 20). For the first time in the competition, the bakers faced a staggered-start signature challenge involving self-saucing puddings.

The bakers didn’t know which order they would start until their names were called by hosts Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding. The change to the task also meant they couldn’t look to one another for guidance on what to do if they got stuck.

Judge Nigella Lawson then set the technical challenge, asking contestants to use ingredients from The Gingham Pantry to personalise their creations. In just five minutes, each baker had to choose what they needed to complete their bakes, and if they forgot anything, they were left struggling down the line.

Finally, the contestants attempted to serve up a selection of classic retro puddings for the showstopper, and it proved a tricky feat to master.

It was the end of the road for one baker as Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding announced the results of this week’s Bake Off. Connie won Star Baker before Yannis was announced as the fifth contestant eliminated from the series.

Following the news of his exit, the paediatrician, who was born in Vienna and lives in London, hugged his fellow contestants and said: “Thank you, it has been a pleasure. I grew up watching this programme and being here for five weeks is surreal.” He added: “I will be very proud of that and it’s been absolutely wonderful.”

Fans of The Great British Bake Off were “heartbroken” to see Yannis leave the tent. Taking to X, one viewer wrote: “YANNIS NOOOOOO #GBBO”, followed by a string of broken heart emojis, while another echoed the sentiment: “Poor Yannis”, along with broken heart and crying face emojis.

A third chimed in: “Ooh. Wasn’t expecting Yannis to go #gbbo”, as another commented: “Awh poor Yannis, but the right person to go tbh. Until next week tho #GBBO.”

“Gutted for Yannis but yayyyy star baker auntie Connie!!! #gbbo”, added another.

The Great British Bake Off airs Tuesday at 8:00 PM on Channel 4.

Mary Berry has had her say on Nigella Lawson, who has taken over Prue Leith’s role as judge on The Great British Bake Off. Mary originally held the role alongside Paul Hollywood

TV cook and former Great British Bake Off judge Mary Berry has backed Nigella Lawson – saying she is a “glamorous” addition to the show who has brought “new life” to the format.

Mary, 91, had clearly been watching the current run of Bake Off and was full of praise for Nigella on the new series, whilst also urging her to take fellow judge Paul Hollywood to task.

Dame Mary said: “Bake Off is a wonderful format. We started it off not knowing what we were doing and then Prue has been doing it and it is a format and you fit into it.

‘I am delighted Nigella is there. She has got to keep control of a certain person. Paul needs handling and he has this handshake which keeps appearing.

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“Nigella has brought some glamour to it, and she really likes tasting doesn’t she? And I know how she feels, I always took a proper mouthful because if you just take a little bit, the person whose food you are tasting, their auntie will say ‘well she didn’t even taste it’. So I was aware of that.

“Nigella is a joy and I think she has brought new life and I think it will do really well. A touch of glamour.”

Speaking on stage at Cheltenham with comedian and former host of Bake Off Mel Giedroyc, the pair recalled how Mary would sometimes arrive for day two of filming in the tent with the same hair and make up, having slept without taking it off to minimise the amount of time she needed to be styled.

Laughing, Dame Mary said: “Why not? I used to put a towel over the pillow, I didn’t want them to think I was grotty. It does take such a long time for someone to do your make up.”

She also said she found the tent cold and would hide hot water bottles under her jackets.

Dame Mary was appearing at Cheltenham to promote her first gardening book, My Gardening Life and a new cook book All In One.

Arguably she was a gardener before she could cook, as she recalled how her father grew practical crops such as potatoes, sweet peas and celery during wartime to feed the family.

“My dad had to take to gardening because he had to dig for Britain and he gave me a little patch and I grew radishes,” she recalled.

Nowadays she has six raised beds in her garden raised to above knee height so she can easily reach them and even perch on the edge if she wants to take a rest.

She said one of her greatest pleasures now in life was ‘deadheading’ in the garden, the process by which you removed faded or spent flowers to tidy up plants.

She explained: “Deadheading is one of my favourite things, you don’t have to dress up for it. I can do it when I get in tonight if its not dark. I can deadhead the roses which are still flowering and it so encourages more things to come on.”

She added: “Gardening is similar to cooking, you follow a formula. But cooking you can follow a recipe and produce it by tonight. Gardening you have got to be much more patient.

“Which do I prefer, gardening or cooking? I think the two go together. We grow vegetables that we eat, things that I like, so there is no kale, lots of herbs and I think they go together.

“I am a fair weather gardener, I would walk a dog in any weather but I don’t garden in any weather. I wait until the sun comes out.”

Dame Mary is of course better known for her baking and cooking. Having studied in France and the UK, she worked for a number of food industry bodies and wrote recipe pages of Housewife magazine.

Her first cookbook, The Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook, was published in 1970 and since then she has gone on to write more than 50 others, which have sold millions of copies around the world.

Already a big name in food, Dame Mary became a household name to a new generation of cake lovers when she landed the role as a judge on The Great British Bake Off, alongside Paul Hollywood, Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins in 2010.

She quit the show in 2016, along with the hosts Mel and Sue, when it moved to Channel 4, staying loyal to the BBC and continuing to make shows there.

* My Gardening Life by Mary Berry is out now, published by DK.

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