The Bake Is Back - the countdown to Great British Bake Off 2026 starts here

[GetSetFake]

Trailer for the new series just dropped - no transmission date yet though.

Anyone else excited to see how Nigella gets on as the new judge? A worthy successor to Pru and Mary, I think.

It's a reference to Ice Cream Gate, when an elderly contestant briefly took someone else's ice-cream out of the freezer, his ice cream was a disaster and he chucked it in the bin. She got a lot of online hate, had a fall and lost her sense of taste so withdrew from the programme. Opinions were divided but calling her a bitch is really not necessary.

She came back.

Some of my speech and mannerisms are similar, I have a tremor and suffer with migraines a lot. She's probably also had her teeth done and that can be quite difficult with chewing and some pronunciations.

Was it possibly a Marietta (which might be Irish) or an Arrowroot biscuit base?

I think Danni was the right person to go. I did love how thrilled for everyone else she seemed during the judging.

Who said “big up Auntie” during the lady talking about the flood in Jamaica?

I loved the garden mosaic.

I assumed it was just botox why Nigella's face was a bit frozen. She looks great really though nonetheless. She's 66!

• Dani was the correct contestant to go but found her sweet
• Why does Paul have it in for Gavin?- his bake was much more complicated than the disability pride flag bake that was extremely basic in design.
• Tom shouldn’t have won star baker, he had a pretty poor attitude in the last challenge to boot
• We don’t need sob stories to make the show work
• The group doesn’t work as a whole and it’s difficult to warm to most contestants

I wondered about her teeth. She bites things at the side of her mouth (like Mary used to) instead of using her front teeth and it looks a bit awkward.

I remember the bloke throwing his stuff in a bin in a huff, I didnt remember that it was due to someone else taking the ice cream out of the freezer, I might be muddling a couple of episodes up

It was clearly a mistake, calling her names is unnecessary like you say

How did she get online hate that resulted in her exiting from the programme, its filmed in advance?

Clara's showstopper looked really nice.

I could, of course. But I want to watch Bake off like it used to be - about the baking, so it's not unreasonable that I should watch this series to see if it improves. Is it? For some reason the contestants have been chosen for their "personalities" rather than their baking skills and that - to me - has spoiled the fundamentals of the show..

Anyway, my comment was lighthearted, but tell me OP, are you really enjoying this series so far?

I think she left because she was ill and lost her taste buds.

I thought Dannis speech at the end was just lovely. Yes, she was a lot, but I think it was her way of coping with a pretty intense situation.

I think Tom won star baker due to his flavours and textures, which I think should always be worth more than how something looks.

Shannon reminded me of someone and I remembered today it was Lauren Sorcha when she was in Misfits. I think it's the long hair and a similar whatever attitude

Dani did make me feel bad for her at the end. She is sweet enough, but not my particular cup of tea so I’m not sad seeing her go sorry!

Why can they not bake simple biscuits?! Most of them were gooey and very obviously underbaked! That should be a basic really?!

Well my DD and I just watched the first half of Second Helping and it’s rubbish. We turned it off. We loved Jo and Tom and while we didn’t like the silly games to stretch the show out I liked the overall format. This version is just so dull. The presenters (particularly the guy) don’t have the energy or charisma required.

Also wondering about Nigella's odd speech. Coupled with the strange way she's nibbling at things, I agree with other posters who've suggested she's had something done to her teeth, or possibly a jaw issue of some sort. Hoping it's not just huge amounts of Botox - I never heard it said that it could change your speech though. I do love Nigella so I hope she's ok!

I think she sounds similar to patsy kensit in emmerdale and did wonder if it's the Botox.

Good point! I'd always assumed the two things were linked but of course they couldn't be.

I think she fell at a meal for all the contestants one weekend - presumably the weekend bingate happened - then lost her sense of smell - or maybe taste - and never came back. I think I then read later she was very upset about the whole experience, but as you say, the incident and the online reaction were months apart.

The ones that weren't underbaked were mostly overbaked. Which is your answer really. The difference between a soggy biscuit and an over tough one is very small.

My husband said "surely a cookie is pretty basic", but actually getting that right balance of crisp and chewy is a fine art.

I really was highly irritated by Danni last week but have to say that this week I warmed to her a bit more. This always happens just before someone goes out that I suddenly see them a bit more positively.

She is incredibly annoying but clearly very kind, sweet and tries hard.

Connie was robbed for star baker. I get that Tom's flavours and biscuits were amazing BUT I think it sends out the wrong message that you don't actually have to bother producing a showstopper so long as your bake is good. A showstopper needs to be exactly that, a showstopper. Otherwise the contestants could just produce a pile of shit and win because it tastes amazing.

Sorry, late to the party as watched on catch-up but I agree, Connie should have won star baker! I do like Tom!

Can't help but think this show isn't about baking any more. It's all about ticking the diversity boxes. Danni was annoying- how on earth can someone have any/all as their pronoun? Ridiculous! Her C4 profile starts by calling her 'they' and then slips into 'she' later on.

I think it's the combination of Botox, teeth and lip fillers. I've got some of her old books and her lips then in the photos are half the size they are now. Apparently if you have excessive filler it's hard to close your lips properly.

Sad for Danni, she seemed a genuinely very kind person but it was the right decision of course.

Yes I thought the same!

Did anyone see her on the one show last night, at points I couldn’t understand a word she was saying