No more soggy bottoms: Bake Off should stop relying on cheeky innuendos
Too much of a good thing can be bad – and that's exactly what's happening with all the cheeky innuendoes in Bake Off, says Grace Henry.
Aside from baking, one thing we can count on when we switch over the telly to The Great British Bake Off is the heap of banter and innuendoes.
From soggy bottoms to nice buns, the show is full of double entendres that have us almost spitting out our tea as we watch on Tuesday nights.
But as the years go on and we're inundated with more and more puns, we wonder if this feature is starting to become overused and a little forced.
We used to laugh when one of the Great British Bake Off judges and hosts or contestants dropped a little gem every now and then.
“When you got it out did you give it a good shake?” legendary judge Mary Berry once asked innocently, as one of the contestants removed their bakes from the oven.
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"Stop touching your dough balls!" former host Sue Perkins shouted, letting the contestants know they'd run out of time.
These little quips came relatively sparingly; they were pleasant, and added just the right amount of innuendo, which didn't take over the show.
They were funny and seemed natural – you never really saw it coming until it happened.
Nowadays, it seems you can't go five minutes without hearing someone make the same old joke about the "moistness" of someone's sponge. And then you know it won't be much longer before you hear another.
Whereas the cheeky one-liners used to be just that – one-liners sprinkled throughout the episode for added effect – now, they seem to be at the forefront for the majority of the show.
Take week six, for example, which saw the Great British Bake Off 2020 contestants take on Japanese Week for the first time in the show's history.
For the Signature Challenge, the contestants were asked to make steamed buns. Cue (naturally) jokes about "smooth" and "firm" buns.
Of course, these jokes came in abundance – and it wouldn't be Bake Off without them – but we probably got more than we bargained for, with the episode seeming to rely on this feature to make viewers laugh.
From the contestants telling each other to "burger off" every minute, to jokes about the "rawness" of the meat, there seemed no end to it.
As the saying goes: "Too many cooks spoil the broth." When it comes to all the innuendoes in Bake Off, that's exactly what they're doing.
The innuendos have become so overused and tired, they're too predictable. And everyone in the tent seems desperate to get in on the action.
We're all for a cheeky pun here and there, but quite frankly, Bake Off doesn't need to overdo it in order to entertain. The format of the show alone does that.
Bake Off is about baking and having a laugh. It's the trusty show that distracts from the more serious things in life, and makes you feel warm and comforted inside.
With coronavirus briefing updates happening frequently and so much going on globally, we definitely need it to take the edge off things.
But when you find yourself listening to the same lines over and over again, you have to wonder whether it's becoming a bit overplayed.
Bake Off might need to hold back on the excessive use of innuendoes and emphasise what the show is really about: the baking drama!
After all, that is what we tune in for week after week. Everything else is just an added bonus, so should really stay that way.
The Great British Bake Off is on Channel 4 on Tuesday nights at 8pm. If you’re looking for more to watch check out our TV Guide.
