Young people on reality tv

[SingaSong12]

I think it's a shame when children/very young people take part in the adult version of reality shows. Martha Collison on GBBO is 17 and doing AS exams. If she doesn't do well then it's a shame she didn't have time to hone her skills a bit, at least until she is an adult. If she does well I don't think she'll have quite the same opportunities to do tv shows, write books etc.

I do feel a bit of a killjoy, but I have seen a quote that bake off made her grow up very fast. Some young people gave that thrust on them such as those bereaved or carers but this is a deliberate decision.

Maybe I'm taking things too far - this us fun and GBBO is relatively gentle as far as these shows go. What do you think?

I think it's an odd thing for a 17yo to WANT to do but I don't really see a problem with it. As for honing her skills, GBBO isn't exactly the acme of a serious baker's career. She should rather be aiming to have her own cake shop/company one day or to be Mary Berry and she has plenty of time to work towards that.

I think the GBBO people like
The fact they have the youngest and oldest ever contestants, although perhaps it would have been better to defer Martha's entry until next year when she'd be 18...
And how much younger will they go in future...