Bake Off fans complain final was ruined by judges asking too much in too little time

The Great British Bake Off fans have accused show bosses of ruining the final by giving the contestants an impossible amount to do in too little time to achieve it.

On Tuesday night, viewers saw Syabira Yusoff crowned the winner after going up against Sandro Farmhouse and Abdul Rehman in a final themed on celebrating the planet.

Read more: All the winners of The Great British Bake Off so far

But fans thought that challenges set by judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith to create a three-part picnic (including baking their own bread), turn out a complex summer pudding bombe, and make an edible sculpture from cake and three other baked elements was just too much to ask.

Winner Yusoff, 32, was mocked by some on social media for her showstopper creation of an edible sculpture featuring an orangutan holding up a forest, with many saying it looked like something from presenter Noel Fielding's comedy show The Mighty Boosh.

Others said that they didn't think the bake was worthy of winning the final and suggested that standards had slipped, but Yusoff had told the judges she didn't feel she had enough time to finish the orangutan's face to her usual standards, with all three finalists struggling with the time allowed in each of the challenges.

Hollywood did concede in judging that they had asked the contestants to achieve too much in the time allowed – with just four and a half hours to make the showstopper sculpture – something that many viewers agreed with.

Read more: Bake Off's biggest ever controversies

One viewer tweeted: "So Paul finally admitted that they asked for too much. How about he does something about it now for future seasons?"

Someone else pointed out: "The quality hasn’t gone down, the amount they are expected to do in the same time has gone up."

Another person wrote: "if at the FINALE everyone is still having issues with timing, thats a flaw with production not with the bakers."

Someone else added: "Is it just me or is the timing getting too stingy. I mean the problem here is that no-one could finish. It’s like they’re forgetting the fundamentals that the show is a home baking show at the end of the day."

Another viewer agreed: "I gotta agree with everyone else, they're not giving the bakers enough time to meet the high standards expected of them and it really showed this season. Those bakes weren't finale level or quality."

Many other fans of the show added to the numbers saying that this year's finalists were all talented, but had not been given a chance to shine because of the demands and timings.

One person tweeted: "I miss the era of Bake Off when the contestants had enough time to make a lovely wedding cake rather than s****ing caramel with stress."

Someone else wrote: "All the finalists were amazing bakers and lovely people. However, the final, like most of this series, was marred by ludicrous challenges, unrealistic time limits and overly harsh comments from the judges. Please, @BritishBakeOff, return to what was a warm *amateur* show."

Another person added: "Well, that was a truly horrible final and it was absolutely no fault of the three incredibly talented and brilliant bakers. Hope the show has a big sit-down and major rethink for 2023, because this is not it."

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