Spoilers ahead.

Well this year of Bake Off has been a whirlwind hasn’t it?! From it being sold by the BBC to that very weird Channel 4 trailer and, of course, the actual show where we saw Liam leave (completely undeserved by the way) and Stacey staying in for far too long (honestly she should’ve left in the first couple of weeks).

But alas, the first series of Bake Off on Channel 4 has come to an end and it’s time to reflect on the up and down rollercoaster of a show it was.

Honestly, when it first started, I thought it was ok. It felt fresh but not too out there to be weird and Noel and Sandi seemed like a good pairing. But as time went on I realised that none of the bakers (apart from Liam and Yan) seemed memorable or outstanding. They were all pretty underwhelming and even the final three didn’t give me thrills. I liked the new bakes because they seemed very 21st century and were areas they hadn’t explored before and even the presenters and judges seemed happier….but it wasn’t completely Bake Off.

The adverts for one were quite annoying and at times it felt like the show was padding because it didn’t have enough interesting material. Although all the bakers were lovely we didn’t get to know them well enough and even when Sophie won I looked back in my memory of her time on the show and I could barely remember anything she had done.

Everything was like the bakes being made, pretty but with no substance and left me with a lack of interest. Of course I watched it all because it is quite fun to see what they come up with week after week but at the same time I want to know more about the bakers behind the bakes too.

Then there was Prue’s tweet. Prue accidentally leaked the winner of Bake Off and everyone was pretty annoyed. I found it funny and kind of thought it was a publicity stunt. Oh she’s ruined Bake Off but that means that we all have to watch the final episode to see if she was telling the truth and thus bringing ratings up. Of course, she wasn’t lying, she had spoiled it and Sophie won. A worthy winner because she has been consistent and in the last episode Stephen definitely messed up and Kate was just lucky to be there to be honest. Many other bakers were much more deserving of her place.

So compared to the BBC I feel like their show was much more candy floss and pretty and fun while Channel 4 is a bit of a try hard. Of course they have to try things out to see what works and it’s their first time with the show but it was missing something. I don’t know what that something was but it was definitely missing. If they continue with more series’ which I can imagine they will maybe they’ll find the missing link and it’ll feel more natural but for now I’m still unsure on how the Bake Off will continue on Channel 4.

What did you think of this year’s GBBO?

Until next time.

Published by shonaharding

Media graduate with a passion for reviewing film and TV. View all posts by shonaharding