Tuesday, August 20, 2013
The Great British Bake Off: it's like a village fete in your sitting room
The Great British Bake-Off returns tonight like a sunny smile spreading across the screen with a cream-smeared strawberry pip stuck between its teeth. It's a weekly village fete right there in your sitting room, Bake Off's cheerful, home-spun and old-fashioned optimism has helped make it the surprise TV hit of recent years.
This unassuming, austerity-friendly contest for amateur bakers launched in summer 2010 to modest fanfare but became a genuine word of mouth phenomenon. Ratings started off at 2million, rose like a well-proved loaf and now regularly top 6million. Figures for last year's final peaked at 7.2million. It has won two consecutive Baftas, been nominated for a Rose d'Or and is credited with kickstarting the home-baking boom. Applicants for this series numbered 16,000, the highest yet.
It's a surprise that, like The Apprentice and MasterChef before it, Bake Off hasn't been "promoted" to BBC One but also a relief – they might be tempted to tinker with the recipe or add unnecessary razzmatazz. Filmed in bunting-draped marquees in the scenic grounds of stately homes, it couldn't be cosier, quainter or more reassuringly British.
At the heart of Bake-Off's success are two duos. Presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins are clearly having the time of their lives and it's infectious. Affectionately teasing, jollying things along and cracking gentle innuendoes about "soggy bottoms", they add warmth and wit to what could easily be a po-faced competition.
Judges Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry, however, are the show's breakout stars. He's bad cop, the Simon Cowell of bread, a blue-eyed silver fox who can reduce contestants to a quivering heap by pointing out their inconsistent crumb or dry middle. She's good cop, the doyenne of dough, a twinkly aunt who wears snazzy floral separates and is the BBC's one-woman defence against ageism. Together they're the perfect team. Forming a quartet with Mel and Sue, they're a family.
And then, of course, are the cakes – arguably the real stars here. From simple sponges to a gingerbread replica of the Coliseum, they're mouthwateringly tasty and technically impressive. There's a reason the final round of each episode is called "the showstopper" – these decorative creations are truly spectacular. All served on doilies, bone china and cake-stands, naturally.
The fourth series, brings together all the same ingredients. This year there are 13 contestants (a baker's dozen, neatly) with the usual eclectic mix: seven women and six men, with ages ranging from 25 to 66, including a carpenter, a dentist, a military wife, a psychologist and a space satellite engineer. Last year saw the first all-male final. Can the female bakers strike back this time? And will ratings continue to rise?
The Great British Bake Off exists in a comforting world where there's nothing that can't be solved with a cup of tea and a slice of cake. It's a perfectly judged slice of television. Indulge your sweet tooth and tuck in.
The Great British Bake Off starts on Tuesday 20 August at 8.00pm.
Source : http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568414/s/302878ac/sc/26/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Cculture0Ctvandradio0C10A2530A840CThe0EGreat0EBritish0EBake0EOff0Eits0Elike0Ea0Evillage0Efete0Ein0Eyour0Esitting0Eroom0Bhtml/story01.htm
