Sandi Toksvig defends 'Bake Off's Rahul after 'cheating' row

The Great British Bake Off’s Sandi Toksvig has leapt to the defence of contestant Rahul Mandal, after viewers complained that he continued decorating his bakes after time was called during this week’s semi-final.

Whether it was in the editing of the show, mild-mannered Rahul looked like he could possibly have been finishing off his work, but nonetheless viewers were more than happy to jump to the conclusion that he was cheating and the show is biased in his favour.

Speaking to Digital Spy, Toksvig said: “What you see is what you get [with Rahul].

“He’s a really charming man with very little self-confidence and an astonishing talent.

“The others all have talent, Briony is talented, Ruby is talented, Kim-Joy is talented but at the end of the day, it’s that bake on that day. I’m sorry if there is a backlash.’

“Everybody is doing their best. These are not telly people. These are people who have decided to put themselves forward to do something that they are passionate about.

“So, I would hate for there to be a backlash against anybody.”

Research scientist Rahul was the early favourite on the show, nabbing the ‘star baker’ accolade two weeks running.

But he has faltered in recent weeks, with fellow finalists Kim-Joy and Ruby now closing the gap, meaning that the winner could be any of them.

“I don’t know what’s happened to Rahul,” judge Prue Leith said in this week’s show. “He’s definitely gone backwards.”

The final takes place on Tuesday.

Toksvig has also confirmed that she and fellow presenter Noel Fielding will be returning for season 10 next year, as will judges Leith and Paul Hollywood.

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