The Great British Bake Off is up and running and already whipping up a storm of early controversy.
An unusual turn of events meant there was no eliminations in the first week of the Channel 4 show.
And there was an unexpected burst of early doors enthusiasm from judge Paul Hollywood which took everyone by surprise.
Twelve contestants have entered the baking competition, now in its 15th series, hoping to become this year’s Great British Bake Off (GBBO) winner.
Among them are a farmer, a car mechanic, a former university lecturer and a soon-to-be dentistry student.
We take a look at how events in the tent panned out in week one.
Why did no one leave Bake Off this week?
New Yorker and former university lecturer Jeff was taken unwell during the first episode of the show and so had to sit out the latter part of it.
The 67-year-old failed to return to the tent for the second challenge and co-host Alison informed the contestants: “As you can see, Jeff is not with us at the moment because he’s not feeling very well but hopefully he’s going to be back next week.”
A show source later told The Sun: “The baker was gutted to miss out on the second day but they weren’t feeling up to it and so they had to sit it out.”
As a result of this, there was no elimination for the first episode of Bake Off.
Judge Dame Prue said at the end of the show: “Because Jeff couldn’t be here, we decided not to send anybody home.
“But there’s also the fact that I have never seen such a bunch of great bakers, I didn’t want to lose any of them.”
As is tradition week one is Cake Week and the bakers were tasked with making a loaf cake for the signature challenge, a Battenberg cake for the technical and then an illusion cake for the showstopper.
The Signature Challenge provided a pivotal moment in the show for Illiyin’s, whose loaf cake garnered the famous “Hollywood handshake”.
The midwife from Norfolk made a cinnamon loaf cake inspired by cinnamon rolls.
A delighted Hollywood told her: “Really nice, well done.
“Congratulations on the birth of your beautiful cinnamon cake.”
Although some viewers were unhappy about such high praise so early on in the show.
Commenting on social media, some wrote: “Paul Hollywood dishing out a handshake on week 1, task 1 is like Strictly dishing out 8s on dance 1… Wrecking all the benchmarks for the series already min.”
While another said: “Paul Hollywood giving out a handshake in the very first bake of week 1.
“The game’s gone.”
Who won Star Baker this week?
Despite early Hollywood fame for Illiyin, it was not enough to see her rise to become star baker of the week.
Instead, that honour went to NHS worker John who impressed the judges with his black forest gateau-inspired loaf cake topped with macarons.
In the technical challenge, his mini Battenberg made it into the top three.
And in the showstopper, contestants were asked to make a super-realistic cake which looked exactly like the object it was meant to portray.
John’s ‘The Perfect Brunch’ illusion cake, a pair of folded jeans with a margarita flavour made the judges very happy.
GBBO continues on Channel 4 next week on Tuesday 1 October at 8pm.
