The Great British Bake Off has confirmed that Chocolate Week and Ice Cream Week will not feature in the current series, after filming took place during the hottest summer on record.
The Channel 4 baking competition returned with 12 amateur bakers hoping to impress judges Paul Hollywood and Nigella Lawson, who has replaced Dame Prue Leith, alongside hosts Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding.
Challenges dropped due to soaring temperatures
A post on the programme’s TikTok account announced: “Hottest summer on record and there’s no Chocolate Week or Ice Cream Week.” The decision means iconic moments from past series — such as the 2014 ice cream-gate, when Iain threw his Baked Alaska showstopper in the bin after fellow baker Diana removed it from the freezer — are not set to be repeated this year.
Viewers were left divided by the news. One wrote: “Happy for the contestants, but sad for us.” Another said: “Chocolate week is character building tho,” as a third added: “We love the chaos tho.” Someone else wrote: “Honestly… probably for the best. But interested to see what there’ll be instead.” Another said: “That would have been sadistic.”
Filming during the heatwave
One fan defended the decision: “Honestly everyone’s complaining but I’m accepting of this, it wouldn’t be remotely enjoyable watching everyone in near-40 Celsius heat all barely able to make anything and risking heatstroke.”
It was previously reported that show bosses found a way for filming to continue despite the heatwave. A show source told The Mirror in July: “Every measure that could be taken has been, to make the bakers comfortable. The lighting gaffer from the crew who’s in first every morning, opens up the tent, takes down the sides and gets airflow moving before everyone arrives.”
Another Channel 4 insider said the tent’s location in Berkshire meant the bakers could enjoy paddling in a stream on site to cool off in between challenges, and there was a “welcome breeze” at the end of May that saved the judges overheating as well as the bakers’ creations crumbling. The source added: “There was a breeze and with the sides of the tent down thanks to the lighting gaffer, it created a natural airflow through the space, almost like a wind tunnel. In fact, by the end of the showstopper bake they actually had to put the sides back up to stop the bakes being blown over!”
The Bake Off continues on Tuesdays at 8pm on Channel 4.
