Though it maintains (principally rightly) its repute as one in all TV’s most mild actuality competitions, The Nice British Bake Off/Baking Present does run into the occasional heat bain-marie of controversy on occasion. The present’s most up-to-date season took an particularly heavy quantity of flak for its themed “Mexican Week”—not as a result of there’s something inherently mistaken with pushing British bakers to discover Mexican delicacies, however due to the present’s dealing with of the concept. (Which is to say, dressing up presenters Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas in sombreros and ponchos and having them shake maracas whereas talking in dangerous Mexican accents.)
However not this time round: Per Deadline, the present’s producers have nixed the concept of doing a “nationwide” week on its upcoming 14th season solely. Per producer Kieran Smith (talking to The Guardian in a pre-season piece), “We didn’t wish to offend anybody however the world has modified and the joke fell flat. We’re not doing any nationwide themes this 12 months.” Smith promised the present can be going with extra conventional weeks this time round: “We’re going very conventional. We’re doing all of the common weeks: Truffles, Biscuits, Bread, Patisserie, Chocolate, plus Social gathering Truffles is a brand new theme.” (Choose Paul Hollywood added that the aim is to current “accessible” challenges to the bakers within the tent this 12 months.)
A lot of the concentrate on the piece, in the meantime, is on incoming co-host Allison Hammond, who’s changing Lucas on the collection. Choose Prue Leith, true to type, didn’t maintain again on her desire for the brand new scenario: “It’s such a reduction,” she says. “These three boys [referencing Fielding, Lucas, and Hollywood] collectively had been like schoolkids. All the time descending into hysterics about sausages or beavers.” That being stated, Hammond is clearly having her personal form of enjoyable on the present: “Prue pretends she doesn’t just like the innuendo,” she asserts at one level “however she loves it actually.”
