GBBO Snowflakes

[rackhampearl]

Preparing for a flaming here but it has to be said. Is it just me or are the contestants on GBBO become more emotional each year? A little bit of criticism from Paul and Prue and it looks like they're gonna have a melt down. I get it's a competition and you want to win of course but it's really not that serious. It's bleeding baking for Christ sake. They're acting rather childish imo. Thoughts?

i don't think she was "quirky" or "interesting" enough.

I disagree. She's French, young, attractive lots to play with there from a marketing point of view.

Though I do agree that Rahul and Kim-Joy had good 'stories' of their own.

I think they just decided that Rahul was a 'good' winner for a number of reasons (that weren't necessarily to do with ultimate marketability, he's no Nadia after all) and moved heaven and earth to make it happen.

Manon and (probably) Kim-Joy were sacrificed in the process.

I do like to see them eating their own bakes. I noticed Kim-Joy and Briony in particular eating their signatures.

No one wanted to eat the ghastly Final showstoppers.

Too much crying throughout, snot and continual lip licking is not conducive to an enjoyable programme (Briony). The odd tear is acceptable but bloody hell, there are limits.

There were apparently tears in the other series, but the delightfully foul-mouthed Mel and Sue made sure the footage was unusable, bless them!

I wondered if she thought it might get her somewhere with Paul

Paul would shag a rip in a fur coat - I doubt she would have had to make up to him - more likely fend him off!

I can't say I noticed her getting increasingly flirty - but maybe it was just as she became more confident, or she was encouraged to be flirty by the producers. In the same way I suspect that Rahul was encouraged to be apologetic and self-deprecating. Unfortunately these ploys don't work (not in this house anyway) and just make the contestants irritating as hell.

Manon was still doing it in the final, sitting on the ground. Spotted the camera and went into full flirt mode.

Tears are understandable but Briony almost flooded the tent. Good thing it was so hot in there to dry it out. There were odd tears from others but she really went for the sympathy vote.

I was pleased when they both left and the acting and playing to the camera stopped and made way for the bakers that didn't to get all the attention and just wanted to win.

Blimey, people are harsh. Maybe I'm naieve but I doubt anyone would choose to lose their composure on TV and blub in front of millions of viewers! It's probably the last thing most people would want to do.

Blimey what a nasty thread! Snowflakes? Are you Trump?

she really went for the sympathy vote

I don't think she did - some people are more emotional than others, that's all. She was under a massive amount of stress, and that's how she coped with it. Not deliberate, not calculated - just how it happened.

They're all chosen from a PC pot of contestants.. WTF?

I thought Briony seemed very genuine and lovely.

So did I Oyster. I wasn't keen on her at first, but as we got to know her I thought she was really lovely.

As a pp has said I read that there has always been a lot of crying but in previous series Mel and Sue deliberately started swearing very loudly whenever someone cried so that the footage couldn't be used on the BBC.

So probably no more snowflakey than normal

There is no way Briony was pretending to cry. Its stressful, of course it is. They're allowed to express it!

In terms of the increase in contestants crying, I read an interview with Sue Perkins that said that she and Mel would go and stand next to any bakers who looked emotional and eff and blind so the production company couldn't get any useable footage. She said they were keen to avoid it becoming too "X factor".

So, I'm guessing there's the same amount of emotion, we're just seeing more of it these days.

The final showstopper was hilarious. When they just announced it was going to be a "pudding landscape" and everyone just got on with it, as though pudding landscapes are in any way a thing.

I also have massive issues with Paul's handshakes. So fucking alpha male. Urgh. I'd love for a contestant to reach out their hand to shake his and then do that childish thing where you put your hand to your nose and wiggle your fingers

Ah, I should have refreshed the page before I posted, someone beat me to it with my Mel and Sue anecdote...

I also have massive issues with Paul's handshakes. So fucking alpha male

You are right - He's practically a silverback! And a twat.

I’ve cried at dropping a pencil before. And I’m really hard. It’s a stress release, not necessarily ‘crying over cake’

It’s not just GBBO though, there is an overal noticeable trend in TV land for ever more displays of emotional incontinence. You kind of understand if say on ‘Who do you think you are’ someone is walking the same steps through Auschwitz that their grandad did or some other personal tragedy. But instead we have people crying over not seeing their family for a few days while on some reality show, crying at winning I’m a celebrity, crying on strictly, crying on the apprentice, crying over everything. Show some bloody backbone!

In previous years the Bake Off final has been very lovey dovey with loads of complements, but this year the bakes were bloody hard and the criticism quite harsh. I would have loved the final showstopper to be something more simple so the contestants could just make something absolutely spectacular.

PMSL at Paul the Silverback. He so is!

Paul the Silverback! Hahaha! Perfect description. I always wondered if Howard was hinting at something that time he made Paul the Polar Bear out of modelling chocolate, too.

I would have loved the final showstopper to be something more simple so the contestants could just make something absolutely spectacular.

Exactly. It just made them all look incompetent. Which they clearly weren't.

I think the final showstopper should have been a wedding cake; anything goes. I’d loved to have seen what they came up with.

Instead we got sludge coloured choux puffs. Hmm.

@MinesaPinot “I'm assuming they have judged the winner over the series as a whole, and not just the final”

But last year they made a big thing about judging it solely from the final and NOT the whole series, which is why Stephen was robbed as he had one bad day, in the final.

Also agree with a PP who said they lied about “oh they’re all even going into the showstopper, it could be anyone’s!”

Er, no! Rewind and watch the comments again! Kim-Joy had come first in both rounds!

I also have massive issues with Paul's handshakes. So fucking alpha male
So true
I can't even watch them