If you love the thrill and uncertainty of the Great British Bake Off, hit the back button on your browser now: Mary Berry has mistakenly revealed which contestant is knocked out next.
The cookery competition judge, 80, let slip the loser’s identity in conversation with Chris Evans on his Radio 2 breakfast show on Wednesday morning – more than 12 hours before the show was scheduled to be aired.
Prompted by Evans to discuss the two contestants already knocked out over the past two weeks, Berry said: “Wait a minute, we’ve lost three.”
Ignoring Evans’s questioning of her count, she went on: “Yes we have. We lost Marie last week, Dorret, and on the first week it was our lovely chap with his little hat on.”
She did not appear to realise her error, but Evans moved quickly to try to cover it up then change the subject.
Fans listening in were furious – or at least as furious as it is possible to get with a lovable octogenarian baking expert. “YOU HAD ONE JOB MARY!!!” bellowed one Twitter user.
“Can’t believe Mary Berry just told us all who leaves tonight on the radio! WTF Mary?!!” wrote another.
Cant believe Mary Berry let slip on the radio who goes on #GBBO tonight! YOU HAD ONE JOB MARY!!!!
— Amy (@AmyLouise_9) August 19, 2015
Can't believe Mary Berry just told us all who leaves tonight on the radio! WTF Mary?!! #GBBO
— Philippa (@Philippa1981) August 19, 2015
😂 well done #MaryBerry for revealing who leaves #GBBO tonight on @BBCRadio2 😂😂 bless her .. I'll still watch it though. . @dinoraaa8 🙉
— Karen T (@cheekibinki) August 19, 2015
Mary Berry just announced who's leaving on the Bake Off tonight live on radio. Someone's had a few too many brandy snaps...
— Lucy Oates (@LucyOates1) August 19, 2015
It was the culmination of a bad morning for Berry, who – speaking to Evans on the phone from her kitchen just after 8am – also revealed she was defrosting her freezer after leaving the door open overnight.
But the spoiler seems unlikely to dent the ratings for Wednesday evening’s show. Despite its seemingly niche premise – summed up by Berry as “judging bread in a tent” – Bake Off has risen to become the most popular show on British television, with the final episode of the previous series attracting more than 13 million viewers.
The third episode of the latest series will see contestants asked to try their hand at making bread. The season is set to run until October.
