Great British Bake Off Viewers All Had The Same Gripe With This Year's Finale

Frustrated fans are calling for big changes before the show returns next year.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for this year’s Great British Bake Off final.

The Great British Bake Off crowned its latest victor during Tuesday night’s finale, meaning there are now 13 (or a “baker’s dozen”, if you like) winners in the show’s hall of fame.

However, it seems fans had one major issue with this year’s final.

Bake Off? Completed it mate!
Well done to Abdul, Sandro and Syabira for handling everything thrown at them on the show over the last ten weeks with such good grace, determination and spirit. Hold your heads very high! ❤️❤️❤️ #GBBO pic.twitter.com/GlPJZ3m87B

— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) November 15, 2022

Throughout this year’s series, fans have been critical of the difficult and, at times, outlandish challenges the amateur bakers have been contested with.

Many viewers have also accused the show of not giving the contestants enough time to perfect their bakes, claiming producers are relying on tension for entertainment value, rather than making sure the participants are able to show off their impressive baking skills.

This criticism definitely applied to the final, kicking off with what was undoubtedly one of the most difficult Signature challenges in Bake Off history, before carrying on to a Technical that gave the bakers just two hours to create an intricate Summer Pudding Bomb which saw all three finalists falter.

All you need is love… and hugs! #GBBO pic.twitter.com/eHwkXKTbOK

— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) November 15, 2022

After that came an ambitious Showstopper bake, for which the group only had three hours to construct a large “edible structure”, which saw all three of them receiving pretty blunt criticism from Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith.

During the episode, many viewers voiced their disappointment on Twitter, with some calling for a “back to basics” approach when Bake Off returns to Channel 4 in 2023…

WHYYYYYYY do they keep making the showstopper too hard/not enough time so everyone is disappointed?! Everyone who loves Bake Off has same gripe. GBBO was always about celebrating triumphs not failures. Especially on final, you just want them all to walk away feeling chuffed #GBBO

— Serena Manteghi she/her (@SerenaManteghi) November 15, 2022

Bit behind on #GBBO but this technical just demonstrates what’s wrong with this show now: make it too hard, & set them up to fail. @LoveProductions this DOESNT make good tv

— Cupie Doll (@cupie_doll) November 15, 2022

Safe to say we’re all in agreement that #GBBO has gone downhill. This is supposed to be a positive show - stop making it impossible for the lovely bakers.

— E.H (@emrh_97) November 15, 2022

What a disappointing final and in fact series that was…next year please go back 2 the format we love, actual bakes we know, with enough time to do them and fun characterful bakers, next year, do better.#bakeofffinal #bakeoff #gbbo @Channel4 @LoveProductions @BritishBakeOff

— Alice Olsen (@aliceesolsen) November 15, 2022

If the best amateur bakers in the country can’t do it, maybe it is… too hard? Just a thought. 🧐 #BakeOff #GBBO

— Morgan Jeffery (@morganjeffery) November 15, 2022

I’m glad Syabira won but that wasn’t a classic series. I really hope they have a rethink for the next series and go back to basics, celebrating talent rather than trying to catch them out with weird and impossible challenges. #gbbo

— Roz Laws (@rozlaws) November 15, 2022

Impossible timings, a lack of actual baking and incredibly harsh judging. #GBBO has done the unthinkable and lost it’s spark. The worst series yet.

— Will Varney (@VarneyWill) November 15, 2022

Bake Off is supposed to be difficult, not impossible. #GBBO

— Naomi Smallwood (@Naomi_Smallwood) November 15, 2022

I miss the era of Bake Off when the contestants had enough time to make a lovely wedding cake rather than shitting caramel with stress #gbbo

— Heidi Stephens (@heidistephens) November 15, 2022

FFS. It is like they are setting the bakers up for failure.

This is why this show has gone off the boil #GBBO https://t.co/gkWhfb7pXc pic.twitter.com/fnGSkAnT9a

— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) November 15, 2022

Always love the show and the contestants. But this year was just a bit "meh". PLEASE go back to baking. Just baking. And let them shine as much as they can. Such talented people who seem to be set up to fail. 😢

— Carol (@camberh4v) November 16, 2022

Seriously @BritishBakeOff PLEASE give the bakers at least enough time to do a mostly decent job. There’s no way stuff can set in 2 hours. #GBBO

— Laura Hoole (She/Her) 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈 Ally (@Hoolie206) November 15, 2022

After the judging, reckon even more so - all very underwhelming, cos they just didn't have enough time for all the different elements. These are amateur bakers not 'Bakeoff The Professionals' - please bring it 'back to basics' next series & give them a chance at perfection! #GBBO https://t.co/OmvOinaKEn

— Grace O'Sullivan (@gosulli) November 15, 2022

That was probably the worst final in bake-off history. Not because of the amazing finalists but because of a production that seemed more intent on setting impossible challenges that set them up to fail then celebrating their amazing baking skills. What a shitshow #gbbo

— G. Phipps-Williams (@gayrath) November 15, 2022

That technical challenge was the final nail in the coffin of a ridiculous series of Bake Off #GBBO

— Charlie Herbert (@CharlieHerb9) November 15, 2022

A problem with this year's #bakeoff is the tasks have been made too hard, right from the off. Meaning no time for considered perfection from the bakers. And no time for entertaining chats..! #GBBO

— Edgingham Wrongly (@EWrongly) November 15, 2022

“Bakers you have one minute.” #GBBO pic.twitter.com/E0gueIubJw

— Rach 🇺🇦 (@rachosaur84) November 15, 2022

I feel like the Bake Off finale should just be “bake a really nice lovely looking cake, you have 9 hours and a bottle of wine to drink, chill out, you’ve done 9 hard weeks, you deserve it” instead of making them all look incompetent with impossible challenges #GBBO

— BakeOffReactions (@BakeOffReaction) November 15, 2022

Perhaps none of them set because they didn’t have enough time allocated?! This is no longer #GBBO it’s the mission impossible bake off and it’s boring. Next year let’s have @PrueLeith & @PaulHollywood doing the technicals too in a separate tent and the production team set them.

— KW (@Norfolk_Kez) November 15, 2022

In the end, it was Syabira Yusoff who became the latest winner of the Great British Bake Off, after impressing the judges over the course of the series with her unique and imaginative approach to flavours.

Syabira, who became the first woman to win the show since its eighth series, said of her win: “All the hard work, all the trial and error, it has all been worth it. I am very very proud.”

The Great British Bake Off is available to stream on All4.

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