BAKED ALASKA-GATE [edited by MNHQ to say that this thread contains many, many GBBO spoilers. Many Many Many]

[amotherfuckingquiche]

She took Iain's ice cream out of the freezer did she not?!

Sorry DD, Iain dropped some beard hair in it.

from Iain's bio on the Bake Off website:

"Have you had any baking disasters?

I have made so many baking disasters. Like a lot of bakers, it's the best way to learn I think, because you discover the correct technique in making mistakes."

Well, mabe he will learn not to keep opening the freezer when he is trying to freeze something.

I once through a horrible apple pie out of a window, it looked and tasted BAD, which in itself of a triumph, making a bad apple pie. My DH just laughed at me and went and bought one. I am a quarter Northern Irish so maybe it's something we are born to do, have a tantrum with a baked good?

Ok. It's just that none of the Presbyterians I know own a kiln in which they make clocks and pottery

None of the Muslims, Buddhists, Quakers or Seventh Day Adventists that I know own any of those things either.

I could be wrong of course, he might be a Buddhist.

The should have won, he was robbed Brendon last year was a Buddhist. He was so zen about it all.

I wonder how many MNetters who posted vitriolic anti-Diana bile on the first few pages of this thread will return to apologise?

We love norman paul is horrible to him his alaska looked lovely I know he isnt very exciting but paul is just a meanie,

Tansie I did (smiley face)

Pipbin...by the way I wasn't being rude about Presbyterians and their perceived lack of clock-making kilns. It was just an observation, because I know a heck of a lot of them.

Paul is definitely a meanie

I mentioned further up thread but apparently the production team cocked up by not bringing enough freezers to ensure adequate space for all the Baked Alaska's. There should have been 1 freezer per person surely, particularly as the Showstopers have a tendency to get rather large. They will have known at least a week or so in advance what the challenge would be so there's no excuse for not having enough space.

That said I'm sorry that Diana has been vilified in the press and on social media, I too called sabotage at the start but it appears some numpties at the Beeb decided we needed added drama.

I wonder if the production team are desperately re-editing next week's show in light of the public's reaction to this one?

There would appear to be lamentably poor judgement and leadership at work. They really need to understand their audience; few of us came to GBBO via Big Brother or similar tasteless shenanigans.

They should be careful.

I am also rather -ahem- disturbed at the number of folks to whom it hadn't occurred that maybe a certain expression on a contestant's face was in reaction to something completely unrelated but had been 'edited in' to that 'scene' for dramatic effect. Happens all the time on TV! Many apologies have had to be issued over many years (mostly recent years...) about this technique, manipulating images to try to make us think in a certain way about a certain individual or circumstance. Though this is 'just cakes', reputations get ruined, friendships destroyed. In the same way as some 'early posters' on this thread weighed in against Diana, but now have gone silent, there will possibly be ladies in her village who will have shot their mouths off but are now too embarrassed to apologise but who will, instead, muster their 'dignity' by maybe cold-shouldering Diana.

Beeyump I didn't mean to offend, that came across the wrong way.

I too am shocked at the amount of people who take reaction shots etc at face value.
If you look at the shorts at the start it looked like MB was saying 'simply unacceptable' to Chetna pushing meringue onto her Alaska with her hands.

Take a careful look at the background for reaction shots etc. You'll notice that things are in different places.

I love Norman. He's so nice, and has the best sense of humour. He also sees the positive side of everything - when he was at the back of the tent one week he described it as a "commanding view" as opposed to the arse end of the GBBO.

Also, when I was in my teens I had an elderly black-turned-grey dwarf lop rabbit called Norman. He had a wonderful temperament and loved his food. Bake Off Norman reminds me of him

Re: the dodgy editing. The BBC have form for this. I remember when they did it to the Queen.

Admittedly it was in an advert for a programme, but fgs, you do not do that to the reigning monarch!

Twats.

"Come off it, this episode would have been planned several months earlier, and the freezers organised at that time. They had no way of knowing that the tent was going to be "sweltering"."

I didn't say that they should have predicted that that weekend would be so hot, during the planning stages, Icimoi - how could they?

But in the run up to filming that weekend, they must have had some tiny inkling that it was going to be hot - they might even have watched a weather forecast - and they could have made sure that they had sufficient freezer capacity for all the contestants' desserts. I am sure they could have organised an extra freezer or two - this is the BBC we are talking about!

Pipbin

Aww, Smegs, that's lovely

Scrambled yes he is so lovely and humorous. He doesn't get too stressed, but he seems genuinely thrilled to be there and having a great time and always looks for a positive.

Go Norm!

Chetna squishing the meringue back on with her hands was so gross. It was a sweaty handed, wet meringued mess.

Totally agree that this is an editing issue and someone needs to 'fess up at BBC 1 , this wouldn't have happened on 2!!!

And considering the whole Ruby thing last year they knew this would happen, someone should be very very ashamed of themselves

Saying that I think Iain, while it was a pity as he was starting to come in to his own a bit deserved to go. It was a tantrum and as such shouldn't be awarded.

I am also rather -ahem- disturbed at the number of folks to whom it hadn't occurred that maybe a certain expression on a contestant's face was in reaction to something completely unrelated but had been 'edited in' to that 'scene' for dramatic effect. Tansie I agree.

I've just complained to the BBC (gosh, am I getting over-invested in this, I've never complained before!) about the unrealistic editing which has created this debacle. I feel so sorry for Diana. I think they've begun to tamper with the format of the show, perhaps after last year's "Rubygate" scenario, they think they'll get more viewers if they manufacture drama to get everyone up in arms. Shoddy programming, imho, I liked it the way it was, all contestants getting equal TV time, coming across as the real people they were (with remarkably little over-competitiveness and no fame-hungry attention-seeking). Bring back the real GBBO!!

OK, I've got fuck all else to do right now and I have looked back over the Alaska freezer carry on.

At no point does it show ANYONE taking Iain's ice cream out of the freezer.

I have taken two screen shots here. One of him putting his ice cream in, and one of Diana and Nancy looking in the freezer.

I can't see Iain's ice cream in the freezer in that shot at all.

Pipbin you are torturing me with all those open freezer doors. Shut the fecking doors now!!