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One of the things we love about The Great British Bake-Off (The Great British Baking Show in the States) — perhaps THE greatest thing we love about it — is that it’s so different than the American reality shows that we’re used to. No cash prize at the end for contestants to snipe and cry over. The bakers aren’t voting to eliminate each other. The hosts don’t even have a proper catchphrase to say when a contestant is eliminated (though, in fairness, the hosts do have to figure out unique ways to say “On your mark, get set, bake” three times per episode). Instead, GBBO offers weary American audiences a respite, a pleasant weekend in the country with the smell of bread wafting through the tent and some well-tempered British home bakers ready to ease you into the delusion that everything is fine. We like it that way. We need it that way.
With one exception.
American reality shows have made great use, in recent years, of all-star seasons. From Top Chef to The Amazing Race to RuPaul’s Drag Race, long-running reality shows have drummed up huge excitement by calling back its most beloved contestants to compete once again, getting a second chance at the top prize that eluded them. Thus far, The Great British Bake-Off has avoided anything close to an all-star season. Which only makes us want it more! Now, we are just a humble web site from across the pond. But maybe by waving the flag for an all-star Bake-Off enthusiastically enough, we can get someone’s attention. Prue, perhaps, will turn those fashion glasses westward and see our great idea.
As a bit of extra enticement, perhaps, here eare five of our favorite contestants who we’d love to see brought back for GBBO: All-Stars. We’re limiting our all-star pool to seasons that have aired on American TV, because it is illegal and wrong to watch the other seasons.
For the record, the other eight, to fill out a super-sized 13-baker season, would be:
- Richard (PBS/Netflix season 1)
- Ruby (season 2)
- Kimberly (season 2)
- Ian (season 3)
- Benjamina (season 4)
- Selasi (season 4)
- Julia (season 5)
- Stacey (season 5)
Chetna (Season 1)
Name: Chetna Makan
Season: U.S. season 1 / U.K. series 5
Finished: 4th place
Star Baker Designations: 1 (European Cakes week)
Having moved to the U.K. from her native Mumbai, it’s no surprise that Chetna brought a lot of Indian flavors to her baking, which is probably why so much of what she made looked so good. Chetna’s cool and calm demeanor made her an oasis inside the tent, and it’s still so infuriating that she didn’t make the finals.
Martha (Season 1)
Name: Martha Collison
Season: U.S. season 1 / U.K. series 5
Finished: 5th
Star Baker Designations: none
Pretty much every season, there’s one fresh-faced contestant who looks like they should be helping their mom bake rather than competing for Britain’s top baking honor. But Martha was the original, the best, and the youngest. At just 17 years old (!!), Martha baked her butt off, charmed Paul and Mary, and was a killer at the technical challenges, never finishing worse than 5th all season.
Tamal (Season 2)
Name: Tamal Ray
Season: U.S. season 3 / U.K. series 6
Finished: runner-up
Star Baker Designations: 1 (Victorian week)
Still the greatest Great British Bake-Off boyfriend of all time, Tamal blazed an adorable path through the season and was the only baker in his season to have never even been in danger of elimination. It’s truly a testament to winner Nadiya that we don’t resent her winning despite denying Tamal the big win.
Andrew (Season 4)
Name: Andrew Smyth
Season: U.S. season 4 / U.K. series 7
Finished: runner-up
Star Baker Designations: 2 (Desserts week and Pâtisserie week)
For the first half of his season, Andrew looked like the competition might do him in. He always did well, but getting there sure seemed like a harrowing journey for the baby-faced aerospace engineer (!). But in the season’s second half, Andrew was kind of a powerhouse, and we’d guess he didn’t miss out on winning the whole season by much.
Steven (Season 5)
Name: Steven Carter-Bailey
Season: U.S. season 5 / U.K. season 8
Finished: runner-up
Star Baker Designations: three (Cake week, Biscuits week, Italian week)
The transition from BBC to Channel 4 did not bother one Steven Carter-Bailey, who took Star Baker the first two weeks and was a consistent top player even as he agonized over every detail. Poor Steven liked to fret, but he fretted all the way to runner-up.
