Bake Off is back, and Alison makes her bow

WHEN Alison Hammond took part in The Great Stand Up To Cancer Bake Off back in 2020, she admitted her skills were rudimental.

She said: “I’m not gonna lie, I’m not really a baker. I just can’t be bothered to measure. I do know 4oz of sugar, butter and flour, and two eggs, makes a really good sponge. I know that from home economics at school.”

Alison ultimately lost the star baker apron to Joe Sugg, but the show’s bosses decided she did belong in the tent, even if at one point she got confused by the oven doors.

So, when Matt Lucas announced he was standing down as the co-host of The Great British Bake Off, they knew who they wanted to step in, as the new series starts on Channel 4 on Tuesday (September 26) at 9pm.

Her co-presenter Noel Fielding agreed Alison, whose role on This Morning has made her one of the UK’s best-loved presenters, would be the ideal choice.

He said: “I’m absolutely pumped we are working together. 

We are gonna spend the whole time giggling like naughty school kids.

This year’s batch of bakers may have reason not to feel quite as daunted as contestants in previous years. Although they will still have to impress judges Paul Hollywood, with his famed steely gaze, and the straight-talking Prue Leith, we have been promised that this time around, the bakes should be a little more familiar.

Producers have picked up on feedback from viewers that some of the challenges were gettin too complicated - and that a few even committed the cardinal sin of being more about cooking than baking.

Paul Hollywood told The Guardian: “We chose this year’s challenges very carefully to be approachable.

In a way, we’ve returned to the philosophy of the first three series. There are some beautiful classic ones and they’ve been a big success.

Executive producer Kieran Smith also confirmed that nationality themed weeks have been ditched after some raised eyebrows at last year’s Mexican Week, and he believes Alison’s presence has also helped restore Bake Off’s general sense of infectious joie de vivre.

He said: “Alison gives it a real lift. It’s warmer, kinder, sillier. It’s one of the best series we’ve ever done.”

So, hopefully the bakers won’t be too on edge as they get stuck into the traditional opener of cake week.

They’ll make a vertical layer cake in the signature challenge, whip up an iconic chocolate cake for their technical, then produce a sponge showstopper featuring a menagerie of animals.

That will test their architectural skills as well as their baking, but on this show, the creations don’t just have to look good - they have to taste amazing too.