Great British Bake Off - Discuss

Are this lot more nervous than last year's? Or are they just filming more calamities? I really felt for the Welsh lady when her church collapsed

The pink lipstick was an improvement and I liked the idea of the soggy carpet in the pub.

Welsh Lady (Louise) too her disaster with good grace, I thought.

How do they pick contestants anyhow?

Its was all a bit of a gingerbread debacle !! First time in a technical challenge I have seen so many just not up to standard .

And some of those Viennese whirls were awful ( my granddaughter aged 9 assured me she could have done better )

I agree Lully the pink lipstick was better .

I found my attention wandering last night until I just stopped watching. I can't connect with any of these contestants as I have in previous series. It's a bit like watching celebrity bake off, where you expect some of them to make a complete mess of what they are doing because they are not supposed to have any skill whatsoever. The only thing they're doing at the moment is giving Jo Brand more ammunition for her awful "Extra Slice" show! I know I am probably being too hard.

I love Jo Brand's Extra Slice show.

I have been a fan of GBBO since the first series, but think now that the format is past its sell by date. It has become so predictable. WE always see the catastrophes, which appear to be the same every series, the dropped trays, the icing that drips everywhere, cut fingers , salt used instead of sugar, tears and fluttering eyelashes at PH! If these are the 'best 12 bakers in the U.K.( Some of the baking is not as good as the average gransnetter could produce)'Let's see the ones who did not make the cut!! Come on BBC! Time for a change ! Rant over!!!!!!

I can't believe these bakers had such a problem with viennese whirls, they aren't that difficult. I would never make GBBO though as I have no piping skills & no hand eye co-ordination for the assembly tasks

Find Mel and Sue irritating and hard to watch. Paul likes himself a bit too much. Where do they get there contestants from? Hard to thing they are the twelve best. Will not watch it again.

I love Jo Brand, merlot; I just don't like Extra Slice. DH thinks it's great, though.

This is probably going to sound mean but the baking in week one really didn't look that good to me. I realise they were suffering first night nerves but the recipes were not that challenging and I expected better results. I too found the exercising contestant rather irritating and was fascinated by the purple lipstick!

I really didn't enjoy it all last night. I usually do but I felt it lacked lustre with not such good bakes at all. Sorry ladies

I agreed with the final 2- maybe I would have sent the other woman home though. I think the girl who went last night had some promise & had a bad day.
I still like Selasi & the lady who won last week- not got their names yet. I think the girl with the lipstick could be a force to be reckoned with too.Looking forward to seeing what colour she has next week.
One thing that REALLY annoys me is that not one contestant ever in any of the series so far knows how to pipe icing! Seeing them struggle with piping bags last night was torture.If you are going on this show please get someone who knows teach you how to pipe- it would save so much time & give far better results. I did my City & Guilds in Sugarcraft about 30 years ago & it is so easy if you know how!I taught the subject for years & never found a pupil who could not do it when shown how (well- OK - there was one but she had problems writing with a pencil too- no co-ordination at all but we got her to turn out reasonable results in the end & she was very happy with her results.)

GBBO is easy to watch, no swearing, no violence, no gritty drama - a gentle, easy bit of TV to give you a few tips, a few giggles and admire some of the amazing creations in the showstopper. Theres enough reality on TV these days but this is old-fashioned reality at it's best. As for obesity - maybe people would rather watch drug taking or killing.??

Going on from GBBO, I really enjoyed the Chronicles of Nadiya. There' s more to Bangladesh than I'd realised (ok I knew next to nothing before watching Nadiya). And what an engaging presenter she was too.

I too really enjoyed The Chronicles of Nadiya. When it began I didn't fancy it but my daughter said it was most enjoyable and suggested I watch it on catch-up. So I watched it last week, and this week and think it is an excellent programme. She is a natural presenter and very likeable.

HannaLoisLuke, I agree with you about Paul Hollywood - he comes across as rather conceited and annoying. Don't agree about Mel and Sue though. I think they are both brilliant. Try Sue Perkins new book, Spectacles, and see if you agree.

Does anyone else think that some timings are too short and set people up to fail and make better television? Two and a half hours for a chocolate loaf was far too short I thought in last night's episode. I need three and a half to make simple white baps! No wonder so many were under baked

purpledaffodil I SO agree with you. And I was cheering on the (Irish?) lad who successfully made a single-proved loaf despite the sneering Hollywood's remarks. GOd I dislike that man, but doesn't he love himself...ugh!

I've watched every series until this one. I just couldn't bear another weekly dose of Mel And Sue - I'm sure they've got worse as the GBBO has progressed. I think if I hear 'ready steady bake' one more time , said in that ridiculous voice, I might throw the TV through the window

Firstly I adore Mel and Sue, as do contestants who say they are wonderfully supportive off camera. Please remember (and as one who has done 'reality' shows,I know) the tone of the programme is down to the producers and editors. So when it comes to that awful choice of technical last night, do not necessarily blame PH - and I bet that piece with MB and the dunking was set up and scripted - she just sounded embarrased uttering the line. Always bear in mind it is an entertainment programme, as are all these types of programme and the cast are not selected just on being able to bake/dance/skate - whatever. They are chosen to be a selection of characters that the producers think will reel in more viewers - so relax and enjoy it for what it is. Having said that I love Nadja - she is a true find.

I can't imagine anyone adoring Mel and Sue. They are awful, not funny and obviously not needed. The bake off would continue quite well without them.
I agree that yesterday the contestants weren't given enough time and knowing Dampfnudeln from living in Germany think it was too much to expect people to bake them without having seen one or tasted one.

I know my MIL never left the kitchen when they were in the oven, they are considered to be difficult to make and you need to have watched your mother making them.

It upsets me when they take German or Austrian recipies and let people bake them under poor conditions and present the messes as a joke. Such things, especially dishes that kept Germans alive after the end of WW2 are revered.
Imagine letting Germans make scones. Unknown to them and then laughing or criticising the results!

The timings are way too short.

Every week there's a numpty who drops a tray of stuff because of those huge padded oven gloves.

They're supposed to be competent bakers so why not use a folded tea towel?

It's all stage managed and getting more ridiculous to watch.

I was interested in those steamed dumplings too. Reminded me of Chinese steamed dumplings, which we used to have in Singapore and which were delicious.
I must look at the recipe, because I missed a bit of it.I expect you have to have the special steaming pan. The Chinese make them in stacked baskets (as far as I remember.)

I am sure they could test them on things less obscure. How can you make something you have no idea about and can not conceive? It reminded me of that concoction last year with 20 layers....so what?
Last night it did prove that simple and good was the best approach . However I loved the harvest plait, it was exquisite.