A killer whale that was tough as old boots and Prue Leith’s saucy slip-up that had Paul Hollywood in fits… yes, it’s Bake Off time again: ROLAND WHITE reviews The Great British Bake Off

The Great British Bake Off, Channel 4

Judgement:

There’s an exciting new ingredient in this year’s series of The Great British Bake Off. Alison Hammond has replaced Matt Lucas as assistant comedian, alongside Noel Fielding.

The former Big Brother star and presenter of ITV’s This Morning was her usual warm and cheerful self. As you would expect, she is very good with the bakers, which used to be Noel’s job. He will have to improve his game.

But as a comedic twist, she’s not entirely comedic. It’s hard to imagine her suddenly singing The Flintstones theme song in German, as Matt Lucas did for baker Jurgen a few years ago. Early days, yes.

The real stars are of course the bakers, but this year it is difficult to see who the standout personalities will be. Last year it was clear from the very first episode that the cheerful Syabira, the eventual winner, would make an impression.

And in 2021 you could see that Jurgen and Giuseppe, who took home the crystal cake stand, would both go far. When Jurgen dropped out in the semi-finals, the country virtually went into mourning.

On last night’s episode, I had early hopes for deli owner Amos, a big presence wearing a big baggy sweater and a safety pin earring.

Oh Amos, where did it all go wrong? He struggled with his vertical layer cake in the first round and never really recovered.

When it came to the showstopper, the bakers had to make a cake in the shape of an animal. Amos chose a whale, which turned out to have a crooked smell (stop me if I get technical).

Even worse was coming. After criticizing the shape of the cake, Paul was given a taste of Hollywood. His assessment was damning: ‘It’s as tough as old boots.’

Amos had to give up his apron, but it must have been a difficult decision because Paul had previously noted, “There is a large group that might leave after the showstopper.”

Be warned: this series is going to be brutal.

The first Star Baker of the series was Engineer Dan, a precision operator in the mold of fellow engineer Giuseppe. From the start he had the air of someone whose soufflés rise without exception. His rhubarb and custard vertical cake was declared ‘beautiful’ by Prue Leith and he won the technical challenge – a Great British Bake Off chocolate cake with ganache and raspberries.

The viewers’ favorite could be a charming former ski instructor named Tasha, who is deaf and has Daryl, the sign language interpreter, to help her follow the action. This is remarkably unremarkable.

Tasha struggled in the first two rounds. As she put it, “My signature dish looked like someone was sitting on it, and I came 11th in the technical round.”

But she came out on top in the showstopper round by baking a spectacular cake in the shape of a giant robin. Former flight attendant Nicky and intelligence analyst Saku could both blossom as the series develops and I hope chartered accountant Keith could be a dark horse.

Bake Off humor can be forced – please, no more terrible puns – but there was an unexpectedly hilarious moment when Prue asked Nicky about her animal cake, Norman the beaver. Don’t ask. Apparently Nicky once dressed up as a beaver. I blush to mention the exact expression Dame Prue innocently used, but you’re probably way ahead of me. It started with “Tell me about your…” and Paul laughed so much that he temporarily lost his ability to speak.

It marked an unexpected return to soaking bottoms and other naughtiness. Dame Prue rephrased her request, but the producer had done well to keep the original.