01The take
Fixing the tent in place.
02Where it sits in the canon
The #12 slot.
Slot #12 of 16 in the Great British Bake Off Editor's Canon. The early series the show was still figuring out at length. The run stretched to eight episodes from the pilot's six, the tent moved to Valentines Mansion in east London, and the broadcast started attracting the audience the producers needed to justify a longer commitment. Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood read a touch more cautious here than they later would, and Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins are still calibrating the warmth that defined their tenure. The casting class is gentler than the runs that followed, the bench is lighter, and the format reads mid-stretch rather than settled. A historical curiosity more than a rewarding rewatch, and the run the show grew out of.
No spoilers. Every page is reviewed before it goes live.
04Also appears in