In the show, which aired last Wednesday (September 14) on BBC1 at 8pm, co-judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood set three challenges to test the nine remaining bakers on some store cupboard classics. The present season, its seventh, is proving more popular than the BBC’s coverage of the 2016 Rio Olympics, with the curtain-raiser pulling nearly half of all British viewers.
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The seventh series has been this year’s most watched programme, with (stiff) peaks of nearly 15 million viewers, and it is syndicated in 196 countries. The show’s ratings peaked at 11.2 million, which is more than the 11.1 million who tuned in for the most popular moment of the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Meanwhile a sterling performance from Croydon’s Benjamina Ebuehi granted her the star baker crown for this week.
She judges alongside Liverpool-born Paul Hollywood, known as “the George Clooney of baking”.
Hosts Mel and Sue have already confirmed that the final series on BBC One – which is now airing – will be their last.
However, we would guess that Love Productions and Channel 4 would consider it money well spent, because after all, without Mary and Paul, will Bake Off really be Bake Off?
The former model gave the channel’s Alternative Christmas Message in 2009 – a year after her ex-boyfriend scarred her for life by throwing acid in her face. “Wherever they go, whatever they do, I think they’ll do a good job”. This upset some people.
The BAFTA-award winning programme broke records of TV viewing in our era of pathetically small TV: 13 million for the 2015 season finale – the most watched TV show of the year – versus 8.9 for HBO’s small screen bonkbuster finale in June this year.
CBS decided not to ask for a second helping.
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In a statement issued by the pair, who have hosted the show since its start in 2010, they reaffirmed their desire that the show stay with the BBC and said: “We’re not going with the dough”.
