GBBO In The Media

[call me ishmael]

4 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

I'm pretty sure it was an issue of personal loyalty to the BBC, not a business/contract thing. 

That was my impression too.  Although maybe they were just tired of working with Paul...

[Evil Queen]

11 hours ago, halopub said:

A trailer with first episode clips, rather than creepy claymation marching towards their demise.

 

Edited to add: I've noticed that contestant photos have started to circulate. The New Statesman published a non-serious analysis of their potential performance, based on tweets and instagrams.

Interesting....I was left shaking my head at the one going over where they will place because of SM. I see in the mini bios and pics that they say Julia spent 3 yrs studying British bakes so in hopes of doing this show. After looking at those, I find I am wanting a slice of cake. LOL 

Edited August 25, 2017 by Evil Queen

[Rationalplan]

Sandi is an well established since the 1980's. She's worked both commercial channels and the BBC she's hosted News Quiz for a long time on radio 4.   While she's not the biggest name out there she's well known and has a solid middle class fan base.   Mel and Sue started on their own show on Channel 4 called Late Lunch and was much loved and was promoted to a better slot and then for some reason they walked away afraid of being typcast.  Sue says it was one of their biggest mistakes as they did not work regularly again for years.  I think Sue ended selling her flat as the mortgage was too much.   Then she started getting gigs on the BBC presenting and comedy panel circut and it saved her.  Supersizers came on and this led to GBBO.  The thing with the BBC is that to those on the inside of the corporation is that they will always get regular gigs even if they don't have their own show.  Regular appearances on thses shows means that your own stand up shows have plenty of free publicity and helpfully drive your own DVD sales. etc. 

There is a reason why people think there are only 12 actors in the UK, once you are on TV and land a popular role you'll always be on first call, many shows will be writtenas vehicles for particular names.   See David Jason, Robson Green, Kevin Whatley. Brenda Blethryn. Jason Issaacs, Sarah LancashireMartin Clunes etc etc.  

 

Presenters tend to have long lived contracts and as long you don't fuck up with drugs, hookers or seedy affairs then you can work for ever hopping from channel to channel.  

[halopub]

A brief review from Good Housekeeping UK, also positive. So yes, it sounds like Love Productions isn't straying too far from what's worked in the past and Noel's been impressing critics. It's too bad LP hasn't been as successful at implementing that same formula in the US, but along with many other issues, they are never going to be able to wrangle contestant travel over three months.

 

13 hours ago, Evil Queen said:

Interesting....I was left shaking my head at the one going over where they will place because of SM. I see in the mini bios and pics that they say Julia spent 3 yrs studying British bakes so in hopes of doing this show. After looking at those, I find I am wanting a slice of cake. LOL 

Those cakes are very 'instagrammy,' with the rainbow colors. I was amused how one contestant just casually mentioned in her official bio that she blacksmiths as a hobby. Can an appearance on Forged in Fire be far behind?

Richard Burr's wife and GBBO superfan Sarah tracked down a bunch of the twitter accounts here . 

[Evil Queen]

9 hours ago, halopub said:

Those cakes are very 'instagrammy,' with the rainbow colors. I was amused how one contestant just casually mentioned in her official bio that she blacksmiths as a hobby. Can an appearance on Forged in Fire be far behind?

I caught that. It was a bit amusing but hey if she has fun doing it good for her. I've only heard of Forged in Fire and never watched but would be a bit funny from baking show to that show. LOL

[GaT]

On 8/24/2017 at 7:15 AM, halopub said:

A trailer with first episode clips, rather than creepy claymation marching towards their demise.

 

 

Thanks for the link, that claymation thing scared the crap out of me, at least this looks like a show I recognize. 

[sum]

Surprisingly the reviews seem to be almost unanimously positive. Some even admitted he/she was ready to dislike it but couldn't. As someone who was going to watch the show anyway or give it a fair chance at the least I'm just relieved and now looking forward to the new start.

I really like Mel, Sue, Mary and Paul not just as a group but also individually. I fully understand why each made a certain decision and think all make a perfect sense in the context of their career. Regarding the new judge & presenters, I happened to start watching QI regularly from the last series and felt Sandi filled the big shoe just fine. In various panel shows where I've seen Noel he comes across as bright and not too quirky. As a fan of The IT Crowd I have a soft spot for him and really hope he will be able to convert audience to his side. I've seen only a handful episodes of GBM and didn't get any particular impressions on Prue. So luckily I have nothing against any of them. While I will miss the magical chemistry of the quartet immensely (I was embarrassingly heartbroken by the news last fall) and it's still hard to imagine GBBO without them I hope that this new group can find their own working formula and take good care of the show. One more day to go!

Edited August 28, 2017 by sum

[Ceindreadh]

FYI, if you're recording this on Channel 4, they have it in an hour and a quarter slot - presumably so they can include ads and still have 60 mins airtime. 

[Athena]

The ratings and the numbers are out and it looks like Channel 4 will be making back its investment:

Quote

The show’s average of 6.5 million viewers in its 8pm slot gave it a 30.4% audience share. It peaked at 7.7 million and a 34.6% share. While the figure immediately makes it Channel 4’s most popular programme, it is significantly down on its BBC1 audience, which averaged more than 10 million.

(...)

Jay Hunt, the chief creative officer of Channel 4, said last week that it needed Bake Off to attract at least 3 million viewers an episode to break even and that she would be delighted if the programme attracted between 5 million and 7 million viewers.

Since Channel 4 has less reach than BBC1, the smaller number was expected but 6.5-7.7 million is huge for them and Channel 4 asked for appropriately high ad space as well.

[dleighg]

The NY Times has an article about the incoming reviews, mostly good. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/30/arts/television/uk-gbbo-great-british-bake-off-channel-4.html?_r=0

Is there any way to watch this in the US at all? I found it online but it won't play on my Mac (no error message, just won't play)

Edited August 31, 2017 by dleighg

[Ceindreadh]

10 hours ago, dleighg said:

The NY Times has an article about the incoming reviews, mostly good. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/30/arts/television/uk-gbbo-great-british-bake-off-channel-4.html?_r=0

Is there any way to watch this in the US at all? I found it online but it won't play on my Mac (no error message, just won't play)

There is a catch up option on the Channel 4 website. Unlike the BBC iPlayer, it does work for viewers outside of the UK (no funny business required) They may have region locked it to Europe though. 

[Athena]

Previously.tv does not allow for discussions on Methods of Flying to England other than through the official Channel 4 methods. Please google if you are interested. Thank you.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Cosmopolitan interview with S4 winner Frances (she talks about some general behind the scenes stuff like how long they spend shooting per day, how many times the bakers are interviewed each day, etc. - in other words, nothing super new if you've read many of the other BTS articles in previous years, but still nice to hear from her again!)

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Bake Off viewers are divided over the return of those little history segments

[GaT]

20 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Bake Off viewers are divided over the return of those little history segments

I love the little history segments, we didn't get them last season, but it sounds like people don't want them because they now get commercials too.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I like them too!

[RealityCheck]

Prue Leith Axed After One Season?

Quote

The 77-year-old restaurateur has now revealed that she hasn't yet been asked to return for another 12 weeks in the iconic white tent.  Sandi Toksvig and Noel Fielding, who replaced the show's presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, are all set to return with veteran master baker Paul Hollywood.

[2727]

Oh, for pete's sake! Prue is fine. FINE! She's knowledgeable and pleasant and wears colorful tops.

At this point I'd be annoyed if for some reason Mary wanted to return and they dumped Prue for her.

[magdalene]

I sampled a few of the new episodes - I am saving the actual watching of the new season for my PBS viewing - and I was surprised by how quickly I warmed to Sandi Toksvig and Noel Fielding.  I find them both quite charming and they come across as genuinely kind.  Plus Fielding has a voice that is very nice to listen to.

[dleighg]

@magdalene will it be shown on PBS at some point, do you know?

[magdalene]

6 hours ago, dleighg said:

@magdalene will it be shown on PBS at some point, do you know?

I read somewhere online a couple of days ago that PBS would eventually.  As far as I remember they still have one last season to air with the original BBC people. Where I live PBS only airs the show in the summer, so I have quite a wait in any case.

Edited October 20, 2017 by magdalene

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Prue accidentally tweeted who won S8 hours before the finale aired (the article does not mention who wins so no spoilers for anyone who hasn't watched yet!)

Quote

She told the Press Association she was overseas and the error was the result of confusion over the time difference. “I’m in Bhutan,” she said. “The time difference is massive. I thought that they got it six hours ago. I’m in too much of a state to talk about it. I fucked up.”

[...]

This is not the first time that a Bake Off judge has revealed the outcome of the show before it has aired.

In 2015, while Bake Off was still on the BBC, Berry revealed who had left the third episode of the series during a radio interview.

Prue confirmed that she (and everyone else) will return for S9!

Edited November 1, 2017 by ElectricBoogaloo

[GaT]

7 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Prue accidentally tweeted who won S8 hours before the finale aired (the article does not mention who wins so no spoilers for anyone who hasn't watched yet!)

Prue confirmed that she (and everyone else) will return for S9!

I was watching E!News yesterday, & they did a story on this & showed the tweet! They told everyone who the winner was, I am so damn pissed.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

11 hours ago, GaT said:

I was watching E!News yesterday, & they did a story on this & showed the tweet! They told everyone who the winner was, I am so damn pissed.

They could have at least fuzzed out the winner's name!

[Christina]

Dammit! I watched this season but didn't take part in the forum because the very first post I started to make was just bashing Prue. I deleted it and thought she would grow on me, but Prue is still a BEC to me. (Other examples.) It all stems from a comment she made years ago that was termed a "stupid Americans" comment. I don't remember what it was but it really wasn't anything to be bothered by, it just made her sound as ignorant and stupid. In the article where she said the comment was taken out of context, and I don't see how it was even after she explained, included additional Prue-isms that made me realize she is pretty sexist and completely classless. I still watched her on Great British Menu and had no problem with her.

What bothers me about her being on this show, is that she had to "defend Mary Berry" (her words, not mine) and she did so by insulting the viewers and praising herself. It started with a claim by Prue that the viewers thought of Mary Berry as an old grandmother, not a woman with skills, and implied that the viewers would have no idea what was good and what wasn't, yet still felt they could comment on the bakes. I'm American and have an old cookbook that includes Mary Berry's recipes so I knew who she was before GBBO. The British, on the other hand, have watched her on television for fifty years, She then decided to point out all the ways people don't realize that she, Prue Leith, has an extensive culinary background and has earned the right to be a judge on GBM. I never gave it a second thought that she wouldn't have been qualified. I had never heard of her or the other two judges on that show, but thought if she wasn't qualified she wouldn't be there. She also said some very sexists comments about men, which many of us were not willing to give her any leeway on because of her age. 

The comments on that article had several people very pointedly commenting on all the reasons they didn't like Prue, which mostly surround the information in her memoir, Relish, which I didn't read personally. In her book, she defended some bad acts that people found abhorable and I found classless. She insisted that she was the one in control of that situation, but I seriously doubt that was true, she was just used and doesn't want to acknowledge it, which is fine by me.

But, I'm having trouble with her being on this show, because it is wholesome, drama-free and didn't contain people who refused to watch the show because they thought the cameramen were filming her in a way that made her look her age. Since I just bitched about her, I'm going to link to her (US) Wikipedia page which discusses her good and charitable works. I'll spend the rest of the time avoiding any mention of her so that my dislike may pass before next season or this season airs here in the US. Until then, look at her over there acting like she owns the place. Blerg.

[MerBearHou]

In completely unsurprising news (at least, to me) -- Paul Hollywood and his wife have split after 20 years.  I could never find myself caring for either Paul or Marcela after I heard about their affair. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

11 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

In completely unsurprising news (at least, to me) -- Paul Hollywood and his wife have split after 20 years.  I could never find myself caring for either Paul or Marcela after I heard about their affair. 

I’m just guessing here but I’m assuming that she wanted to forgive him and give him another chance or maybe they stayed together until their kid was older but yeah, I’m not surprised that they’ve finally split up. 

[sum]

The Great Christmas Bake Off / Great Festive Bake Off bakers revealed (2 Episodes) 

Quote

It’s a time for spices, sweets and tasty baked treats as Prue Leith, Paul Hollywood, Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig bring some holiday cheer to The Great British Bake Off in two festive episodes, on Channel 4.

In each episode four former bakers from previous series will return to the tent to go head to head in three seasonal challenges to find out who will top the tree as Star Baker.

In The Great Christmas Bake Off former GBBO bakers Paul Jagger, Beca Lyne-Pirkis, Selasi Gbormittah and Val Stones will face three yummy yuletide challenges - but will a Christmas miracle help them to ace it this time round?

It’s party time in the tent for The Great Festive Bake Off as four seasoned bakers return to create something to celebrate in three delectable challenges. Testing their prowess and trying to impress Paul and Prue will be Benjamina Ebuehi, Rob Billington, Rav Bansal and Sandy Docherty.

The Great Christmas Bake Off and The Great Festive Bake Off will be on Channel 4 during the festive season (dates and times to be confirmed).

# The Great Christmas Bake Off

- Paul Jagger, 51
Job: Prison Governor / Series: Series 6 / Week eliminated: 8 (Patisserie)
Previous GBBO highlight: Paul is best remembered for his jaw-droppingly detailed Lion bread creation

- Beca Lyne-Pirkis, 35
Job: Has her own Welsh language cookery show titled Bexws / Series: 4 / Week Eliminated: 9 (French pastry)
Previous GBBO moment: Beca’s macaron were also described as “Exquisite”, which subsequently lead to her nickname ‘Becaron’

- Selasi Gbormittah, 31
Job: Banker / Series: Series 7 / Week Eliminated: 9 (Semi-final, Patisserie)
Previous GBBO moment: Selasi’s cool and calm approach to each challenge saw him through to the semi-final of Bake Off

- Val Stones, 67
Job: Retired Teacher / Series: Series 7 / Week Eliminated: 5 (Pastry Week)
Previous GBBO highlight: Val’s dancing whilst baking and emotional goodbye speech tapped at the nation’s hearts. She said “When you bake, you always bake for a reason. You're giving it to people, so you make it best you can. And you make it with love"

# The Great Festive Bake Off

- Benjamina Ebuehi, 25
Job: Now pursuing a career in food / Series: Series 7 / Week Eliminated: 8 (Tudor Week)
Known for: Being much loved for her flavoursome bakes

- Rob Billington, 31
Job: Photographer / Series: 2 / Week Eliminated: 5 (Pie Week)
Previous GBBO lowlight: When his pristine chocolate cake slid onto the floor at the end of the challenge. Another lowlight for Rob was during the week he went out, when his custard meringue pie collapsed.

- Rav Bansal, 28
Job: Baker / Series: Series 7 / Week Eliminated: 6 (Botanical Week)
Previous GBBO moments: Known for his exotic and experimental fusion of flavours. Rav also found himself at the bottom of each technical challenge for three weeks in a row.

- Sandy Docherty, 52
Job: Child Welfare Officer / Series: 6 / Week Eliminated: 4 (Dessert Week)
Known for: Her sense of humour, most famously she performed the ‘wobble dance’

[RealityCheck]

Schedule For The Holiday British Bake Off Specials

Quote

The Great Christmas Bake Off airs Monday 12/25/2017 at 7:40PM.  The Great Festive Bake Off airs Monday 01/01/2018 at 7:40PM.

[RealityCheck]

Bake Off Seeks New Sponsor

[halopub]

Amazon Boards 'Great British Bake Off' as Main Sponsor

Amazon is going to promote Echos and Alexa on the show.

[dleighg]

^LOL, I've got an Echo and pretty much all I use it for is "Alexa, set a nuts timer for 6 minutes," or, stuff like "Alexa, what is 763 divided by 9" (when dividing my pita bread dough by nine for my recipe)

[GaT]

49 minutes ago, halopub said:

Amazon Boards 'Great British Bake Off' as Main Sponsor

Amazon is going to promote Echos and Alexa on the show.

"Netflix, meanwhile, has announced it will be showing the first seven seasons of the show."

Oh PLEASE be in the US!

EDITED: It's this weekend!

Edited March 29, 2018 by GaT

[mishy]

Quote

Netflix, meanwhile, has announced it will be showing the first seven seasons of the show.

You had me excited for a minute but this is Netflix UK and that does me no good. 

[halopub]

Just checked. So far Netflix US still just has the four seasons that aired on PBS. If you donate to PBS they also have them on their streaming service Passport.

Netflix US

• four seasons that aired stateside
• three seasons of Masterclass - with an Easter episode airing on PBS this week

• The Big Family Cooking Showdown

Of the seasons that haven't officially aired in the US, the third one from 2012 is still one of my favorites. It's the one with John Whaite and James Morton, the bespectacled doctor with a collection of Fairisle sweaters.

I know that the BBC still retains the lucrative international licensing rights outside of North America and that Love Productions has a deal with ABC for the US version. I'm not sure, however, how Love Productions plans to handle future broadcast rights of the mothership show in the US. Has PBS picked up more seasons? Old seasons or the latest Channel 4 iteration? 

[GaT]

14 hours ago, mishy said:

You had me excited for a minute but this is Netflix UK and that does me no good. 

Yeah, I'm so depressed. I thought I was going to get 3 new season to watch, damn it.   

[AllAboutMBTV]

Surely (I hope...) PBS will at least show the last Original Flavour GBBS (with Mary, Mel and Sue) here in the US. Does anyone have any idea when?

In the Clearly I Need To Get Out More Dept., I was very excited to see the Easter Masterclass show up on my DVR guide (Easter Sunday afternoon on KQED here in the Bay Area).

[GaT]

43 minutes ago, AllAboutMBTV said:

Surely (I hope...) PBS will at least show the last Original Flavour GBBS (with Mary, Mel and Sue) here in the US. Does anyone have any idea when?

In the Clearly I Need To Get Out More Dept., I was very excited to see the Easter Masterclass show up on my DVR guide (Easter Sunday afternoon on KQED here in the Bay Area).

They showed the last 4 series with them (not the first 3), & those are on Netflix. 

[halopub]

Graham Norton clip: when Mary Berry was once arrested by customs officials

[AZChristian]

Hysterical!!!

[auntiemel]

On 3/30/2018 at 11:53 AM, halopub said:

Of the seasons that haven't officially aired in the US, the third one from 2012 is still one of my favorites. It's the one with John Whaite and James Morton, the bespectacled doctor with a collection of Fairisle sweaters.

Yes, I adored that season, and James in particular!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The Great British Baking Show has been nominated for a TCA award!

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN REALITY

[magdalene]

I am fervently hoping PBS or Netflix or somebody will buy the American rights to the post BBC seasons.  I was dubious at first but the show has remained true to itself and charming, new hosts and all.  It would be a shame for American viewers to miss out.

[mlp]

American viewers hope so too!!!

[Cazenn]

CBC will be airing GBBO starting Wednesday, July 11th at 8:00 p.m.  As their website offers bios for Prue, Sandi and Noel, it must be UK Season 8 which they'll be showing.

Edited July 7, 2018 by Cazenn

[mishy]

Quote

CBC will be airing GBBO starting Wednesday, July 11th at 8:00 p.m.  As their website offers bios for Prue, Sandi and Noel, it must be UK Season 8 which they'll be showing.

I'm jealous!

[Kohola3]

LOVE CBC!  Being from MI I've always been able to watch it.  Best Olympics coverage, way better than in the US.  Setting my DVR as we speak!

[sum]

Really glad to hear that. I hope you would give the new presenters and the judge a fair chance. Not that it's that poor at the start but naturally they need a few episodes before fully finding their feet and for the viewers as well to get used to new dynamics. IMO, it got only better throughout the season and over the year-end specials & the comic relief series. So have fun!

[hula-la]

On 2018-07-06 at 8:43 PM, Cazenn said:

CBC will be airing GBBO starting Wednesday, July 11th at 8:00 p.m.  As their website offers bios for Prue, Sandi and Noel, it must be UK Season 8 which they'll be showing.

 

I saw it on my DVD listing and almost deleted it, thinking it was an old series. Yay CBC—now I have 2 GBBO series to watch this summer!

Edited July 12, 2018 by hula-la
Was so excited, I forgot the d in “and”.

[Kohola3]

1 minute ago, hula-la said:

2 GBBO series to watch this summer

Just so you know, the CBC version is Season 8 and there is a thread for that.