What a lovely five weeks. From communist cats to James McAvoy’s stiff peaks, KSI’s upended cherry tart to John Bishop’s smashed bowls, it’s been a delight. Take care everyone, and we’ll see you soon x
Despite what the Channel 4 announcer just said, this is the last new episode of The Great Celebrity Bake Off (next week is a repeat), so this is Michael and I signing off from this liveblog for now.
Thank you once again for all of your comments and kind words BTL every week. We’ve enjoyed it immensely.
It was obviously going to be Anneka. From her Signature that could have been from that Big Painting Challenge programme to her utterly bonkers helicopter Showstopper.
The winner is...
Anneka! The most well deserved win - in Nadine’s words, she’s “a roilly giud behhhker”. Elsewhere, John Bishop is livid that had to bake in a tent for two days after discovering he could’ve just bought a Star Baker apron online (as can you!).
Might frame this quote for when you get it wrong, Michael.
I like that they’re spinning out this section to make it sound like Anneka isn’t going to win, when we all know that she will.
The perfect comparison.
While we wait for the result, here’s Nadine Coyle messing up with her mixer again.
It’s not easy being a camera operator in the Bake Off Tent. Especially when Nadine Coyle is around. 😂😂😂 #GBBO @NadineCoyleNow pic.twitter.com/oRM6PyHGHb
— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) April 6, 2021
“Frankly what we all want to do is bury our faces in Nadine’s moist … sponge”. Anneka knows EXACTLY what she is doing.
Nadine has absolutely no decoration whatsoever but the cake itself is a beaut. With everyone else’s bakes tasting rather underwhelming, dare I say could she clinch it?
Bake me up! Here’s @NadineCoyleNow’s Trip To Venice chocolate cake showstopper. #GBBO pic.twitter.com/rHz0BdzhPL
— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) April 6, 2021
Ade has made the brown ring Anneka was talking about earlier. I’m not sure I agree that he’s done “a decent job”, as Paul suggests.
Hoop dreams are made of these. Feast your eyes on @AdeAdepitan’s Chocolate Orange Basketball Stadium! 🏀🏀 #GBBO pic.twitter.com/FHii5Cap0r
— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) April 6, 2021
I’m confused by John’s design. Who is the mystery third man in little red shorts?
Find someone who looks at you like John Bishop looks at his tennis court cake. #GBBO pic.twitter.com/ZWoCsa0Uzg
— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) April 6, 2021
Paul: “I’m not getting much chocolate.” SHE BAKED THE SWISS ALPS, PAUL.
Anneka’s bake looks absolutely, positively bonkers. I love it.
Get to the chopper! Here’s @AnnekaRice’s Helicopter Flight Showstopper chocolate cake - a treasure worth hunting for. #GBBO pic.twitter.com/nBBYvUqISc
— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) April 6, 2021
The final judgement of the series …
If Anneka doesn’t win I’ll … do nothing. But I’ll be annoyed.
doctor who fans when john achieves the bare minimum because he’s terrible #gbbo pic.twitter.com/Cjq4gCOd8j
— el ☁️ (@raggedymvn) April 6, 2021
To be honest this isn’t the most surprising thing we’ve heard come out of Anneka’s mouth this evening...
I am in awe of how Nadine’s perfect hair has survived two days in a humid tent.
John’s bake is just an endless game of scooping up raw cake batter to try and make it stick into a rough rectangle, isn’t it?
Nadine just did the familiar “laughing at the joke so Matt will leave me alone” thing. She’s getting the true Bake Off experience.
To be honest, if the machines are uprising bring on the machines. please take us over, feel free.
“This is the make or break part”, notes Ade. Looks like Ade is in the “make” zone, and John’s in the other.
Agreed, sandcastle-shaped buckets are top tier.
I would quite like to watch Anneka front a cookery programme. There’s something soothing about her surprise every time something goes well.
Giving 2020 contestant Laura a run for her money at this rate...
At this rate Nadine Coyle will be serving her workbench to the judges. #GBBO pic.twitter.com/iYzHd9b5va
— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) April 6, 2021
Not going to lie, John’s Showstopper looks like it will be a scene from a grisly ITV murder series.
I used to sneak into the medicine cupboard and eat arnica like it was sweets. Don’t tell my mum.
Prue is so posh she’s pronounces Anneka....
— Seanerella 💭 (@Seanerella) April 6, 2021
Arnica.
...and Arnica Rice sounds like a gluten-free dried product from Holland & Barrett. #bakeoff #celebritybakeoff #GBBO pic.twitter.com/77FQ2gzc0d
Has anybody else noticed how suspiciously clean Ade’s bench is?
Prue: “Please keep your Showstopper straightforward.”
Anneka: “I’m abseiling high above the Swiss Alps.”
Ohh Nadine is talking about her friend - likely referring to lovely Sarah Harding (from Girls Aloud) who has terminal breast cancer. I’ve gotten all goosebumpy and teary.
Ade’s stadium is a lovely idea, but I think he may have misunderstood the meaning of a bucket list.
Did everyone see Nadine’s facial expressions? It was as if she was reacting to an actual explosion.
Well, it’s been three minutes. John has already smashed a KitchenAid bowl and Nadine’s covered her entire bench in an explosion of cocoa powder.
“Because the bakers are so inexperienced …” says Prue. Wow Prue - wow.
The Showstopper is a chocolate cake that represents their bucket list.
Black at the top of the list, I think. Wooden ones at the bottom.
Pru after eating Anneka’s caramel #GBBO pic.twitter.com/8cXNQv4lDH
— Sinead Farrelly (@sinead_farrelly) April 6, 2021
I do not condone this.
Scott just GLEEFULLY messaged to tell me that my baking knowledge is being questioned. I would like to ask you all to look here and then I will feel better.
Remember that the celebs are all raising money for Stand Up To Cancer - to donate, just head to the SU2C website.
“Next time Stand Up To Cancer rings me, I’m just going to run a marathon”. The least humble of brags from John.
Step one: open the packet.
To be fair to them, I think this was a particularly difficult challenge considering a few weeks ago the contestants had to make scones.
Nadine dropped most of hers so she’s likely last despite John’s mishaps.
Still, better than last week ...
I shall never recover. #GBBO pic.twitter.com/VEIFpVrOvD
— michael chakraverty (@mschakraverty) March 30, 2021
Time for Paul and Prue to do what we’ve collectively been doing for the past 15 minutes, and judge.
This is likely to go badly for all but Anneka, isn’t it?
Love that John Bishop shoved something into the fridge, waited six seconds as if the fridge was a microwave, then immediately took it out again.
Anneka is an oasis of calm as the rest of the tent descends into anarchy. John and Nadine both seem to expect fridges to chill things in seconds, Nadine’s thrown half her financiers on the floor and Ade is battling a piping bag.
“Behhhkin is like an Olummpic Spoirt”, cries Nadine. Finally, a sport I’m good at.
“Tsp is teaspoon, isn’t it?” asks John toward the end of the second challenge of three.
“No one will ever know that I have done wrong,” says John Bishop, to camera, on a show airing on national television.
Let me guess: you wouldn’t recommend this?
Oh my god. John has removed his partially-baked financiers from the oven so that he can add his forgotten flour to the warm batter. Right.
Anneka does the “measure by counting as you pour” technique too! VERY relatable content.
While everyone is looking forward to returning to pubs or restaurants post-lockdown, Anneka is most looking forward to going to the Savoy for an afternoon tea. Inspirational.
Anneka is “waiting for a nice brown ring”. I …
What’s a financier, you ask? Not worth it, I reply.
Robert Peston left reeling.
Predicting a financier crash of 2007 proportions in approximately 15 minutes.
The technical is to make 12 identical coffee and walnut financiers.
“Don’t burn anything” says Prue, hopefully.
Nadine confirming that her baking knowledge is limited to sausage rolls and yorkshire puddings. Aunt Bessie, is that you?
Paul seems impressed though. Upcoming series 12 contestants, make a note.
Yes, but that’s not “highly-decorated” nor is it a bun. So it’s irrelevant.
BAR ANNEKA. She brought A PAINTING with her.
Let’s see how highly-decorated these buns are …
Spoiler: they aren’t.
Sound of the Bun-derground?
I smell a pun-off BTL. My offering: I’ll Stand By Choux
I’m going to go with 5%...
Feeling smug that I timed my cake coming out of the oven perfectly for this ad break. Now you will all have finished your snacks and I will be smug with a fresh warm cake.
WAIT. ANNEKA HAS A PAINTING? WHERE DID THIS COME FROM?
Have we ever seen such a wholesome batch of celebs helping each other out? It’s sort of heartwarming.
“Do you want me to hold the hole open while you shove it in?” suggests Anneka. Feel a bit weak at the knees all of a sudden.
Everything on the screen has the consistency of Tubby Custard so far.
Nadine has not practiced this, so that she doesn’t get nervous having to do it a second time. I admire this ‘crash and burn’ approach to life.
Nadine is muttering unintelligibly into her freezer, and John’s spooning yellow Play-Doh in to a piping bag. The descent has begun.
Ade looks horrified at how much sugar is in his bake. He must have been traumatised at how much sugar there reportedly is in a creme egg.
This is the amount of sugar in ONE Cadbury’s Creme egg.
— Dave Lowe (@daveloweee) March 29, 2021
Outrageous. pic.twitter.com/Jy00BAUXqY
Matt’s admiring John’s plentiful buns (aren’t we all). It looks like they’ve actually all managed quite well? Oh no wait – Nadine has made scrambled eggs.
Everything feels very serene so far. Cue Anneka: “I AM HAVING THE MOST TRAUMATIC TIME OF MY ENTIRE LIFE.”
John Bishop doesn’t move his upper face when he talks. Try covering his mouth on the screen with your hand - once you’ve noticed it I promise you can’t unsee it.
To be fair to Nadine, I think I’d like to eat her buns most out of everyone in the tent. And a crème diplomat (crème pat with whipped cream) is more interesting isn’t it?
Paul to Nadine: “Hello Nadine, you alright?” Nadine: “No.”
One minute in and she’s said it already! Shall I start a tally?
Nadine Coyle’s Flour Power. ❤️ #GBBO pic.twitter.com/VqRYlg0htR
— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) April 6, 2021
“It’s gone very floppy, should I just start again?” asks Anneka. Sometimes you’re just not in the mood, Anneka.
It’s been said before. Often. By me.
Me whenever Nadine is on screen: “do the meme do the meme do the meme do the meme do the meme do the meme do the meme do the meme do the meme.”
No, I didn’t copy and paste that. I wrote that out manually.
Prue is explaining that the celebrities should expect to see “an explosion” in the oven. Perhaps she should keep that particular piece of advice to herself.
John Bishop: “Do we have baking trays?”
Yes John, this show reportedly cost Channel 4 £75 million – they have trays.
BAKING AND STUFF. THEY’RE WORKING WITH FLOUR.
The signature this week is to make eight “highly-decorated” choux buns.
Just so I’ve said it, I will not accept a dip or a drizzle as “high decoration”.
It’ll come out in an ad break, by my timings. Living life on the edge as always.
Michael has just informed me that he put a cake in the oven just before the liveblog so will have to take it out halfway through. Hope that’s OK with everyone.
Understandably, today is a very sad day. Sarah Hughes, who has written many words for the Guardian and Observer over the years and is known by many people reading this liveblog, has died from cancer at the age of 48.
I’ve never known someone more passionate and dedicated to television, its viewers and its readers, but also someone so friendly, welcoming and supportive. She was an immense presence and she’ll be much missed by everyone here.
I’ve been watching this every day since last week. My life is forever changed.
I shall never recover. #GBBO pic.twitter.com/VEIFpVrOvD
— michael chakraverty (@mschakraverty) March 30, 2021
It’s lovely to be back for the fifth and final celebrity episode. Instead of constant anarchy, this series seems to be chaotic one week, semi-final serious vibes the next. Hoping this week is more of the former, rather than the latter.
Evening all! Five weeks have passed both incredibly slowly and in the blink of an eye, and we find ourselves at the final episode of this series of The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer.
This week we have TV presenter Anneka Rice, comedian and new Doctor Who companion John Bishop, presenter and paralympian Ade Adepitan and Girls Aloud’s Nadine Coyle (who has the most glorious accent). If you haven’t seen this video of Nadine’s startling pronunciation of almost every word in a sentence, it’s required viewing.
Remember that the celebs are all raising money for Stand Up To Cancer - to donate, just head to the SU2C website (Scott and I are donating part of our fee too).
