The bread and butter of reality TV is the chaos and conflicts that ensue between the cast. The reality is that manipulation from editors and producers are the source of this. In an interview with Insider, multiple former contestants of The Great British Bake Off have spoken up about how the series creates drama.
One thing that producers use for the most entertainment is the weather. One contestant of Great British Bake Off, Anthony Amourdoux of season 9, said how the producers “love the drama in the tent.” The baker detailed how if you need to bake bread, you will get the coldest day. For hot days, it happens to land on the same day as when you are making a dish with ice cream. He remembered requesting an air conditioner when tempering chocolate and was denied by the production team.
Not everyone agrees with Armourdoux’s theory. Season 8 baker Tom Hetherington recognized the issues but disagreed on the scheduling plans for bad weather days on specific challenges.
Producers will manipulate a Great British Bake Off contestant for drama
Constraints, specifically time, are where most contestants on The Great British Bake Off tend to agree. Hetherington looked at how time is used in favor of tension rather than coming out with a quality good. When looking at bread, “you can’t increase the speed at which it takes to proof a bread dough.” Baking is a science, and when you alter the specifications of that science, like the time needed in the oven, it can underbake the item,
The BAFTA-winning show, which goes under a slightly different name in the US by replacing Bake Off with Baking Show, is about to end season 13. The latest outing premiered in September and will end on October 25 for Custard Week. The latest season has been going mostly smoothly, outside of a problematic cultural portrayal with Mexico Week, which drew heat across social media toward the series.