The latest series of The Great British Bake Off is now under way – and with it the Guardian’s accompanying weekly live blog. The aim is to provide as-it-happens commentary for those watching the programme – the show doesn’t take itself terribly seriously, so lends itself to a bit of tongue-in-cheek observation that is lightweight and fun.
I’ve been liveblogging television for the Guardian for eight years – I’ve also joined viewers for Strictly Come Dancing, The X Factor, The Apprentice and Eurovision among other programmes – and Bake Off is probably the most challenging. The action moves surprisingly fast, particularly in the early weeks when there are many bakers in the tent, and three challenges to cram into an hour-long show. In week one there were 12 drizzle cakes, batches of jaffa cakes and mirror-glaze cakes to get through, each with multiple twists (technical bakes excepted). In this week’s instalment the bakers produced 264 iced biscuits in just the first round – before we got anywhere near their complicated, sometimes disastrously so, gingerbread structures.
Oddly, the The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing are often easier to live blog, even though the action is live, because the format is more structured and predictable. I can also do more preparation in advance – for Strictly I’ll note ahead of time which dance each couple is doing, and their song choice for that week. The challenge with Strictly is the sheer length of the Saturday live show: it can be more than two hours in the early weeks, which is a really long time to be writing at top speed without a break.
It’s nice to think that most of the readers come to the GBBO live blog for my witty commentary, but I’m very aware that the icing on the cake is the comment box, which is packed weekly with baking wisdom and hilarious observations, and is truly a joy to read.
For me, the comment box community is what makes liveblogging special, perhaps because that’s where I first contributed to the Guardian. In 2007, I was a regular commenter on some of the early TV live blogs, and a fortuitous encounter with the then media editor gave me the opportunity to pitch for a job.
I am a copywriter by trade, with no journalism training, so it was a simple case of seizing the moment. I never imagined I’d still be doing it nine years later, and still loving every minute by minute.
