‘Great British Bake Off’ contestants from years gone by have come out in support of the show, following its debut on Channel 4.
After much speculation about how well it would do in its new home, ‘Bake Off’ aired on Channel 4 for the first time on Tuesday (29 August), and apart from a few minor sticking points, won typically good comments from viewers on social media.
Among them were the show’s reigning champion Candice Brown, who seemed particularly pleased with seeing her former stomping ground still thriving after switching channels.
Sharing a gif of new presenters Sandi Toksvig and Noel Fielding, she commented that the pair had “smashed it as expected”, also noting that she’d “missed” the show during its year-long absence.
Prior to this, she posted another excited tweet, remarking that she (to use her exact phrasing) “LOVVVVVVVEEEEEEEES” the new look show.
Candice isn’t the only winner to voice her support for Channel 4’s incarnation of ‘Bake Off’ though, with Nancy Birtwhistle tweeting that producers had “nailed it” once again.
She also defended criticisms of adverts, which featured in the show for the first time now it’s no longer on the BBC, as did series three winner John Whaite, who also saw the silver lining of the ad breaks:
Meanwhile, series two winner Jo Wheatley stuck up for newcomer Noel Fielding, hitting back at the suggestion he was a “cringe”-inducing presenter by saying she thought he was “fab”.
But one ‘Bake Off’ winner we didn’t hear from during Tuesday’s episode was series six winner, BBC cooking presenter and all-round national treasure Nadiya Hussain, who took herself off to the theatre for the night.
She did later insist that she’d be tuning in, though, having recorded the show so she could fast-forward through the adverts.
The morning after ‘Bake Off’ aired, Channel 4 revealed the show had helped them pull in their highest viewing figures in five years, with an average of 6.5 million people watching the first episode of the new series.
‘Bake Off’ continues on Tuesday (5 September), at 8pm on Channel 4.