GBBO: The Lowdown So Far

Hi GBBO fans! We’re sorry we’ve been a little quiet on the Bake Off front of late, but we’ve been in recovery. From what? Shock. The sheer shock of Mr Paul Hollywood himself giving out not one, but two of his famous Hollywood Handshakes for showstopper bakes for the first time in history in episode two. :O indeed.

What’s happened to him?! He used to be so mean. Is it his new beard (RIP the goatee)? Is it the influence of Noel dressed as Marie Antoinette? Is it that he just feels more relaxed around Prue than Mary? Whatever it is, we like the new Paul – so far.

But there are glimmers of the old Paul we know and love there still. Like when he told Ruby her Black Forest traybake looked more like a forest floor, for example.

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Or that Dan’s iced biscuit depiction of his baby looked more like a prawn. To be fair though, we’re glad it was ‘rawn’ that followed that ‘p’ when the word started coming out of the Hollywood’s mouth…ahem.

But enough about Paul. What have we made of the new gang of bakers so far?

Well, 12 new bakers (now down to ten) for a start. Standouts so far include Karen, who was spotted tucking into a packet of Squares after finishing her signature regional biscuits early, and Terry, who made a brandy snap cast of his face in Biscuit Week – he was in trouble until he did that, so we’re taking that as the way to get out of all future pickles – and a cake model of the Eiffel Tower for Cake Week. We cannot wait to see what he’s going to make next – hopefully a lifesize depiction of himself for Bread Week.

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There’s Noel’s new hairdo too, Prue’s new awareness of just how important it is to keep the winner a secret (!!!), they’ve changed the red gingham cloths covering the ingredients for the technical from red to blue (yes, we do watch it that closely), and – if you read everything written in the media – a lack of innuendo.

We call fake news! Do these journalists not know that the phrase ‘soggy bottom’ is only relevant when it’s a pastry-based week?! Amateurs! A lesson in not believing everything you read if ever there was one.

Aside from Paul becoming a total softie, we were also confused by Biscuit Week coming first this year, as diehard GBBO fans will know it’s always been Cake Week first. In some households, this definitely caused more upset than Mary, Mel and Sue’s departures.

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Meanwhile, Manon was confused by the concept of what she dubbed ‘wheelie wagons’ – can you imagine growing up without Wagon Wheels?

Everyone was also baffled by the technical in week two, le gateau vert, which was apparently Monet’s favourite cake, but had icing made from spinach. We’re not sure that’s going to catch on, tbh.

But softie Paul – that’s definitely something we can get on board with.