10 unforgettable 'Great British Bake Off' moments

As if you need any reminding, the ninth series of Great British Bake Off is about to kick off on Channel 4.

And as any GBBO fan knows, asides from the spectacular baking, part of the fun of each series are the many mishaps, innuendos and oftentimes unintentionally hilarious moments.

Take a look at these ten ridiculous yet gloriously unforgettable Great British Bake Off talking points from the past eight series…

Nadiya’s many, many facial expressions

Nadiya Hussain’s fantastic range of facial explanations really need very little explanation. The beloved series six winner became renowned for her vividly expressive expressions as well as her witty one liners.

Mary Berry’s unfortunate spoiler

Long before Prue Leith’s unforgettable Twitter mishap came original BBC judge Mary Berry’s unfortunate radio spoiler. While speaking live on the Chris Evans Radio 2 Breakfast Show in 2015 Berry let slip that week’s eliminated contestant.

So far only two eliminated contestants had been revealed. That was until Berry declared: “Wait a minute, we’ve lost three. We lost Marie last week, Dorret and on the first week it was our lovely chap with his little hat on,” Berry revealed. *Mic Drop.*

Prue Leith’s Twitter disaster

Perhaps the most shocking Bake Off moment to date occurred just last year when new judge Prue Leith tweeted the series winner – a whopping twelve hours before the episode aired on Channel 4.

Leith blamed the gaffe on time difference confusion, as she was holidaying in Bhutan at the time. However, Bake Off producers clearly see the funny side of the almighty mistake, as in tonight’s opening episode hosts Fielding and Toksvig recreate the debacle with a silly Bake to the Future skit.

#BinGate

Who can forget series five #Bingate incident? A shocking mishap which divided Bake Off fans across the board involved a contestant’s baked Alaska which went very wrong.

Contestant Iain Watters furiously threw his baked Alaska into the bin after it failed to properly set. Editing suggested rival contestant Diana Beard had removed some of his cake’s icing and thus sabotaging his creation.

Much debate ensued over whether this actually occurred, and whether it was actually the inept freezers provided faults instead. Never fully resolved, Watters left the tent that episode and Beard left ‘due to illness’ before the next episode aired.

#Squirrelgate

Bake Off may seem like a classy show on the outset, but part of its appeal is its saucy innuendos and often unexpected cheeky moments. And perhaps no moment reflects this better than when the camera panned to a particularly well-endowed squirrel in the finale of Great British Bake Off series two. And fans were none too happy when in season three the cheeky chappy was replaced by what fans branded a ‘pleasant pheasant.’

Various middle class moments

Is Bake Off the most middle class show on television today? This could be the case or at least by going on the various classic middle class comments and reactions each series typically produces.

But none seems more appropriate than 2015 contestant Flora Sheddon who seemed to come into difficulty when trying to use a regular oven. When Mel and Sue asked why she was having such a hard time with the cooking appliance, she responded in all seriousness: “At home we’ve got an Aga.”

Dough throwing mishap

Things went a little wrong for contestant Cathryn Dresser when she attempted to mimic Paul Hollywood’s smooth ‘twist and throw’ dough stretching technique. Over enthusiastically tossing the dough, it ended up covered in hair after landing on the tent’s carpet.

Mary Berry’s many unintended innuendos

Mary Berry is one staunch lady, but this doesn’t stop her from making many innuendos, which we can only presume are mostly unintentional. From her ‘it smells a little like grass’ comment to reacting to edible carpet within a contestant’s gingerbread house creation with the awkward ‘I’ll eat a bit of carpet’ line – her reactions are nothing if not unpredictable.

The magnificent bread lion

Prison governor Paul Jagger created one of the most memorable Bake Off works of art ever in series six. For the infamous bread week, Jagger went above and beyond when he created an elaborate bread lion. Beautiful and majestic, somehow Jagger didn’t win the challenge (a travesty), but the masterpiece did launch a thousand memes and became part of Bake Off history.

Sue Perkins budget cuts joke

Original BBC judge Sue Perkins was known and loved for her blunt sense of humour, and here’s a key example when she jabbed at recent BBC budget cuts. Saying that usually there would be more elaborate sketches, viewers would have to make do with her and fellow judge Mel Giedroyc fight over a contestant’s mousse.

Great British Bake Off returns to Channel 4 August 28 at 8pm.

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO MEET THIS YEAR’S BAKE OFF CONTESTANTS

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