12 Secrets From The Bake Off Tent

A beloved staple of British television, The Great British Bake Off has cultivated a hearty fanbase since its 2010 debut. But between the baking highs and lows, there’s a small army of people behind the curtain (tent flap?) literally and figuratively keeping the ovens running. From Technical Challenge trial runs and phone bans, to the real reason why the bakers keep wearing the same clothes, these are some of our favourite secrets from Bake Off tent.

Bake Off Secrets: What Happens In The Tent?

Paul Hollywood Has Been A Judge For 16 Years

The eternal symbol of Bake Off (right after the tent) has to be Paul Hollywood. The celebrity chef and baker has been on the show ever since its 2010 debut – making him the longest-serving judge in Bake Off history. He’s seen rather a lot of people go in and out of the tent in that time, including three judges, six presenters and more than 200 bakers. 

The Great British Bake Off series 17

The Tent Used To Travel

The Bake Off tent has had a home in Welford Park, Berkshire since 2014 (and before that in Harptree Court, Somerset and Valentines Mansion, Redbridge). But all the way back in series 1, The Great British Bake Off went on tour. The first ever rendition of the show would see the tent relocate to a different part of the UK each week, in relation to that week’s theme. You can find out all of its stops from the show here.

Recipe Illustrations Are Drawn After The Challenges

Let’s be honest: those illustrations from The Great British Bake Off look just as good as the bakes themselves. They’re the work of artist Tom Hovey, who has been working on the show since its inception in 2010. He describes his job at Bake Off as ‘being in the right place at the right time’. ‘I was working in the edit suite with the series director and editor when they mentioned that there was a visual element missing from the show, and that they were thinking of including some illustration,’ he told the BBC. ‘I said I could do it, pitched a few ideas and got the gig. A thousand cake drawings later I’m still going!’

When working on illustrations, Hovey works from photos of the finished bakes from each challenge – rather than descriptions of what each baker is making. ‘I receive a pack of photos of the finished bakes from the set after each episode has been filmed that I use for reference,’ he explained. ‘I sketch out all the bakes quickly in pencil to get the details, form and shape I am after. I then work these up by hand drawing them all in ink, then they’re scanned and coloured digitally, and then I add the titles and ingredient arrows. It’s a fairly well streamlined process now.’

The Great British Bake Off series 15

Time Warnings Are Pre-Recorded

A group of bakers using kitchen appliances in a tent was never going to be a quiet experience. So why, when Noel and Alison call out time warnings on the show, can we hear them perfectly? No, the bakers aren’t asked to stop for a quick break – all announcements we see on TV are recorded after each challenge has finished (in an empty tent), while producers give out quick warnings during the actual challenge time and focus recording the bakers’ reactions.

All Ovens Are Tested Each Morning With A Victoria Sponge

Despite being a well-oiled machine of a show, even technical difficulties can get the best of Bake Off. But, in a bid to avoid ovens failing during episode filming, the team has one routine it sticks to: baking a Victoria sponge in all 12 ovens each morning to make sure they’re all functioning properly and in the same way. ‘We mark each one, then get a runner to stand at each station with their cake mix so we can be sure they’ve all gone into the oven at the same time and can be properly tested,’ explained team member Georgia May. ‘We just have to be certain we’re fair.’

No Dishwashers Are Allowed In The Tent

The noisiest appliance in the kitchen is, more often than not, the dishwasher. Amid worries that appliance noise would ruin the show’s audio quality, producers made the decision to ban dishwashers from the tent. So what happens to all the sticky bowls, trays and utensils? A dedicated team is prepped backstage to wash and dry all of the crockery and tools used on the show by hand. (We imagine the washing up pile is rather massive.)

The Great British Bake Off series 17

The Bakers Wear The Same Clothes For Days In A Row

One of Bake Off’s biggest mysteries – until recently – posed the question of why the bakers wear the same outfit for a week’s worth of challenges. The reasoning was simple: for continuity. The Great British Bake Off is usually filmed over a 10-week period during spring, with each episode taking a few days (often back-to-back) to film. This means that the bakers often have to wear the same outfits multiple days in a row, so that shots for the episode can be more easily edited and spliced together.

But it often leads to rather smelly days in the tent. ‘If you are a baker, you are sweating in those clothes and you’re proper stinky,’ revealed series 9 contestant Antony Amourdoux. ‘The first week all of us were stinking the second day.’ More recently, bakers have taken to packing duplicate outfits or, when in dire need, washing their clothes in their hotel room sink.

Contestants Have To Surrender Their Phones

No leaks in the tent allowed. To stop bakers from receiving outside help or revealing spoilers before the show airs, producers from Bake Off confiscate all mobile phones in the morning before filming. This is why we don’t have much behind-the-scenes content from the bakers, despite social media giving the show a boost in recent years.

A Food Team Tests The Technical Challenges First

Ever thought the Technical Challenges seemed an impossible task? For the inexperienced baker, maybe – but not for the experts. When creating a Technical for the bakers, Bake Off assembles a team of dedicated food researchers who bake every recipe beforehand to prove it’s actually possible to make it in the time limit. So they aren’t impossible, just terribly tricky.

The Great British Bake Off series 16

BinGate Caused More Than 800 Complaints

Who can forget one of the most controversial moments in Bake Off history? Back in 2014, series five contestants took on a baked Alaska for Dessert Week. But disaster soon struck when baker Iain Watters threw his Showstopper into the bin not long before the bakers were called to present to judges. Why did he do it? Accidental sabotage. 

Fellow contestant Diana Beard had removed Iain’s baked Alaska from the freezer to make room for her own bake – crucially, without letting him know. This left his baked Alaska to melt into a gooey heap on the workbench. Iain panicked, and despite then-presenter Sue Perkins’ best efforts to help him make it presentable for the judges, he soon grew agitated enough to chuck his dessert in the bin. He was sent home at the end of the episode. The incident caused some minor backlash, with 13 complaints to Ofcom and more than 800 directly to the BBC. (But don’t worry, both bakers say they’re still on good terms.)

Former Judge Prue Leith Once Spoiled The Final

Prue Leith’s first year on the Bake Off team was certainly memorable – and not just for benchside manners and Technical bakes. Not long before the series 8 finale aired in 2017, the former judge shared a post on Twitter congratulating winner Sophie Faldo. This was, of course, an accident. Leith had been travelling in Bhutan for work and misjudged the time difference. She quickly deleted the post, apologising to Bake Off fans and calling the mistake ‘mortifying’. 

The Great British Bake Off series 15

Leftover Bakes DO Get Eaten

A lot of baking goes on in the tent (obviously), but you’ll be pleased to know that nothing goes to waste. Due to health, safety and food hygiene regulations, items sitting out on the side for long stretches of time during filming can’t go to food banks – instead, bakes are distributed amongst the team. 

After each challenge has been judged, Bake Off’s chief home economist gathers a sample of the day’s bakes into a basket and delivers it to the contestants’ lunch room so they can try each others’ creations. Everything else is left in the crew lunch area; there are roughly 50 people working on the show, so there are plenty of hungry bellies to fill with baked goods. (Bonus: when she was still a judge on the show, Prue Leith said she used to take leftovers home to feed her and her neighbours’ pigs.)