The Greatest British Bake Off's first ever winner Edd Kimber has revealed that he suffered homophobic abuse during his time in the competition.
Edd appeared on the original BBC series in 2010 before its move to Channel 4.
While he says his time on the cooking show was a 'generally positive' experience, Edd says he was still targeted by cruel trolls during and after the show went to air.
The gay star opened up about his experience in a Twitter debate about the new series.
Columnist Dan Lepard wrote: "Catching up on [Bake Off] and I realised what an #LGBTQ- affirmative show it has grown into. Bakers on the show happen to be openly gay, rather than in a hushed "he/she has a secret" way. And over 10 years of GBBO the show has led the way."
Former Star Baker Edd then responded: "I was just talking about this on the podcast, the fact that every season has had gay contestants is such a wonderful thing."
Edd then told how he had received homophobic comments from viewers when the competition was shown on TV.
He explained: "I think most of the stuff that was said on camera never made to it air. I got a little bit of online abuse for it during and after the show but thankfully it was generally a very positive experience. "
He then added: "I can never understand anyone, especially another gay person, who could publicly post hateful things towards another person."
After winning the show in 2010, Edd left his bank job and went on to publish three cookbooks, Say It With Cake, The Boy Who Bakes and Patisserie Made Simple.
