'Great British Bake Off' Winner Frances Quinn Reveals Just How Tough A Day's Filming Can Be

While we always suspected that filming on ‘Great British Bake Off’ was no piece of cake, former winner Frances Quinn has spoken out about just how gruelling a weekend in the tent can be.

Frances, who won the fourth series of ‘Bake Off’ back in 2013, has recalled having “no life” away from the show while filming was in full swing, despite the recording process only taking place over two days.

She told Cosmopolitan: “You haven’t really got a life other than [the show]. No social life. That was the most stressful time.

“We had to get a train down on the Friday and we’d have a wake up call at 5am, we’d be in the tent at 7am. We’d wrap filming at about 8pm and then it would be the same again the next day. I’d get back at about midnight on the Sunday.

“It’s not just a two-hour bake with a few buttercups.”

As well as the tough challenges set by Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry - the latter of whom has since been replaced by newcomer Prue Leith - Frances recalled having to be interviewed by production as many as eight times a day, and wearing the same outfits two days in a row for continuity reasons.

She joked: “Luckily they change the aprons so we don’t look like a Jackson Pollock painting by the end of it. I think layers [is the answer], but even then you still have to wear what you had on, on top. Difficult.

“And everyone was always like ‘Did you buy two of everything?’ and I was like ‘No, you’re spending so much money on butter and eggs.’”

Frances was one of a handful of former ‘Bake Off’ winners who spoke out in praise of the current series when it debuted on Channel 4 last month.

Former judge Mary Berry claimed shortly afterwards that she missed the first episode due to being out at a dinner with friends, but later shared her thoughts on the new series in an interview with HuffPost UK.