Most of all, Jo said the best thing about the whole experience was Mary. For years she had followed Mary’s work, admiring not only her recipes, which she regularly cooked at home, but also her incredible career path. As such, it was a huge honour when Mary complimented Jo after she cooked her own signature dish … the Victoria Sponge. ‘My greatest moment was when Mary said my Victoria sandwich was one of the best she’d ever tasted,’ Jo said in an interview with the Essex Chronicle. ‘It was a massive compliment coming from the lady I so respect.’ And when asked in the same interview which cooks had influenced her over the years, Jo quickly responded: ‘Mary, of course!’ The feeling of respect was mutual. After triumphing in the competition, Mary spoke openly about how proud she was of Jo. In particular, Mary said she was delighted to see how Jo had grown as a person over the course of the series. No longer was she the shy, retiring housewife whose life was dedicated to bringing up her family. ‘Jo was absolutely the right winner,’ Mary said in an interview with the Daily Mail. ‘And it was lovely to see how she came out of herself and grew much more confident.’
And with that boosted confidence came new opportunities for Jo. Like Mary, Jo also had a passion for the trusty storage-heating oven, the Aga. To begin with, she set up a blog called Jo’s Blue Aga, dedicated to giving advice, tips and recipes to other Aga lovers. Following on from that, she secured the chance to hold a series of workshops in cupcake decorating, as well as Christmas hamper baking. Places were snapped up by her fans and the classes quickly became fully booked. But that was just the beginning of Jo’s blossoming career as a celebrity baker. It seemed that her own life would start to mirror Mary’s in more ways than one as she became increasingly high profile. Having noticed all the attention directed her way, at this point a publishing house approached Jo to write her own book. She jumped at the chance and, in 2012, she released A Passion For Baking. During its first week of release it flew up the Sunday Times best-sellers list to number two in the non-fiction charts. Suddenly Jo was giving Mary a run for her money! ‘I never dreamt I’d be able to write a book,’ Jo told the Brentwood Gazette. ‘It’s easy to follow, with not too many ingredients and some really good flavours. That’s how I wanted the book to be, very down to earth and practical. It covers all aspects of baking. I thought about what I would want to do if I did a cookery book and this is it.’
The aim of the book was to appeal to as broad a cross section of bakers as possible. Jo wanted it to cater both for complete novices who had never been near an oven, and also for more experienced bakers, telling the Brentwood Gazette, ‘The recipes are achievable by everyone. The response to the book and my blog has been amazing. On Twitter and Facebook, the reactions have been fantastic. I can’t describe how wonderful it’s been. I pinch myself every day that I’m getting to do this. But the more you get to write about something you like doing, the more you find out and the more doors and avenues open up for you. I pushed myself to come up with different ideas and recipes and really enjoyed doing it. It’s given me a whole new purpose; I can experiment, and have a reason to now. It’s wonderful to be doing this for a living. I loved compiling it, I loved every moment. It was cathartic; it brought back memories of my childhood, cooking with Nan and the amazing family parties we had. It was such a lovely thing to do.’ On top of the success of A Passion For Baking, Jo also took another leaf out of Mary’s book. She now teaches baking masterclasses from her home in Essex and they quickly became a huge hit with the public, with bookings being taken months in advance.
The popularity of the Great British Bake Off had transformed Jo from a stay-at-home mum to a household name … giving her some of the same opportunities that Mary had. There was no better example of how a popular TV show could make such a marked difference to an individual’s life. The show’s actual prize might not have been anything substantial, but the rewards afterwards were huge. After the end of series two, TV critic Kevin O’Sullivan noted in his Sunday Mirror column: ‘More than 5 million cake fans tuned in to the Great British Bake Off to see Essex mum Jo win TV’s worst-ever trophy. Wooden spoons inside a see-through sphere with some sort of lemon squeezer shoved on the top. Eight weeks of hard kitchen graft … and this is all she gets! But I guess that’s the charm of this innocent slice of Middle England. No big-money prizes, no claptrap about changing lives … no idiot minor celebs spewing meaningless clichés. Just a good old-fashioned village-hall cooking contest … Set your ovens to 2012. This is one programme cash-strapped BBC2 won’t be axing.’
And Kevin was totally right. GBBO was the hit that would just keep growing and growing. Another series was commissioned for 2012. But before then, as with all popular reality TV shows, there would be a couple of spin-offs, in the form of Junior Bake Off and the Great Sport Relief Bake Off. The first kicked off soon after the second series of GBBO had come to an end. Mary and Paul returned to judge a group of young bakers as they went through the same process the adults had done on the main show. The demands, however, were somewhat less daunting for the youngsters. Rather than elaborate tower cakes and pastries with expensive ingredients, the kids were set challenges of baking far simpler dishes. However, the idea behind the show remained the same and it was screened on the children’s TV channel CBBC. Then, in January 2012, celebrities competed on the Great Sport Relief Bake Off, to tie in with Sport Relief, the BBC’s annual charity fundraising event. The celebrity would-be bakers included TV journalist Anita Rani, actresses Angela Griffin and Sarah Hadland, former Strictly Come Dancing judge and choreographer Arlene Phillips, botanist James Wong, garden designer Joe Swift, BBC journalist Fi Glover, Apprentice finalist Saira Khan, curator Gus Casely-Hayford, fashion designer Pearl Lowe and weatherman Alex Deakin. Anita Rani eventually won the four-episode mini-series. But Mary wasn’t so complimentary about the celebrities’ baking skills as a whole. ‘They were pretty ropey, although they were lovely,’ Mary said in an interview with the Daily Express after filming of the series had finished.
By the summer of 2012, preparations were once again in full swing for the return of the Great British Bake Off. As in the second series, there were 12 contestants competing across 10 episodes. This time around, filming moved out to the countryside, to picturesque Harptree Court in Somerset. Originally built in 1798, it usually functioned as an award-winning country house open to the public as a high-end bed-and-breakfast retreat. The contestants who would be coming under Mary and Paul’s watchful eye included Natasha Stringer, Cathryn Dresser, Peter Maloney, Victoria Chester, Stuart Marston-Smith, Manisha Parmar, Sarah-Jane Willis, Ryan Chong, Danielle Bryden, Brendan Lynch, James Morton and John Whaite. The series hit screens in August – and by now it had become a staple of British TV.
But while the ratings were better than ever, and fans of the show delighted in its return, the show began to hit the headlines outside of the TV review pages. Unsurprisingly for such a successful show, it had suddenly become newsworthy, too – something that showbiz journalists could latch on to and write about as the series progressed. The coverage wasn’t always positive, however, and the show found itself in hot water soon after the third series began.
For instance, it was noted that Smeg fridges featured heavily in the show. Each workstation in the competition kitchen has a fridge emblazoned with a prominent Smeg logo on the front. There would be close-up shots of the fridges as contestants gathered ingredients and prepared to pull together their recipes. To the casual eye, this might not have seemed anything out of the ordinary. However, one viewer complained about it. Andrew Smith, of Manchester, wrote to the Radio Times to voice his concerns, saying: ‘The Smeg logo was so visible that I counted it 37 times before giving up.’ Mr Smith also complained that Smeg’s website seemed to indicate a collaboration with the Great British Bake Off, as it openly said that it had ‘once again teamed up with the show to supply six iconic fridge-freezers’. This might not have been remarkable, were it not for the fact that it meant the BBC’s guidelines were in danger of being breached. Any form of
product placement is strictly forbidden by the corporation. BBC rules say producers must not feature products for cash or services, and any brands shown must be editorially justified and given limited exposure. The accusation that the BBC was allegedly favouring a brand of fridge and giving it ample coverage in one of its flagship shows was particularly damaging. The BBC was forced to admit that it had breached its own editorial standards in doing so. It admitted to the fact that a loan agreement between Love Productions and the fridge-freezer company ‘did not meet editorial guidelines’. It transpired that the Italian firm behind Smeg fridges had loaned the £1,000 appliances at no charge for this series after being approached by staff from the production company. It had also supplied them for the two earlier series. The result was that the BBC asked for the comments on the Smeg website to be removed, and a spokesman for the corporation issued a statement saying: ‘It is inevitable that some equipment will be seen in shot but producers are always looking to minimise product prominence. The independent production company had a loan agreement that did not meet editorial guidelines, therefore it is being revised and hire payments will be made.’
That controversy aside, it was Mary who mainly took centre stage when it came to the media coverage. The newspapers couldn’t get enough of the doyenne of baking, as the series became ever more popular. And Mary’s honesty meant that she also grabbed some major headlines. That was particularly the case when she said, in one interview to publicise the series, that ‘young wives’ should love cooking – something that flew in the face of feminist ideals that a woman’s place in the twenty-first century was most certainly not confined to the kitchen. Modern brides, it is widely believed, should be able to share kitchen duties with their spouse. But Mary was quite vocal and said that she simply did not agree. Her position was that women should accept that they will spend a large proportion of their lives slaving away over a hot stove – and should fully embrace it. The comments were made while she was talking about her daughter Annabel. Mary said: ‘She does love cooking. Isn’t that lucky for a young wife and mother? You’re going to be doing it your whole life, so you might as well enjoy it.’ But while many would have agreed with Mary, her comments didn’t go down well with some women, who said that it was hard to balance working life with household duties. Some even took to online forums to complain. One said: ‘Husbands should be cooking (and cleaning) too! This is 2012!’ Another chimed in, saying: ‘How about husbands learning to cook?’ While Mary’s comments may have created a little bit of controversy, it did go to prove that she was principled, and stood by her beliefs – regardless of whether others may have seen them as outdated.
But while she may have seemed outdated on that occasion, there was another moment during the third series where quite the opposite was true … and Mary became something of a trendsetter. Not only was she the Queen of Baking – suddenly she became the Queen of Fashion, too. Viewers of GBBO started noticing Mary’s clothes – and went out of their way to remark on how fashionable they were. It became commonplace for her sartorial choices to be discussed on social networking sites such as Twitter, just as much as the cakes that featured on the show. Particularly popular with her fans was a trendy floral bomber jacket from high-street chain Zara. After Mary appeared wearing it on the show, hundreds of comments from fans commenting on how chic and stylish it looked flooded the micro-blogging site. One, calling themselves Incredibly Rich, tweeted: ‘Not only is Mary Berry faultless in the kitchen, that flower print blouse she’s wearing is bang on trend. The woman is a goddess.’ Rosie Richards commented: ‘Yes! Mary Berry is rocking her floral bomber jacket from Zara. Legend.’ Jim Taylor added: ‘I don’t normally tweet about fashion, but Mary Berry looks amazing on Great British Bake Off tonight. The “digital floral bomber jacket” is in this autumn.’
At one stage there was such a lot of discussion about the clothes that she was trending on Twitter, with many wondering whether they could still purchase the item. Natalie Longworth said: ‘I’m loving Mary Berry’s floral bomber jacket. Where can I get one?’ But sadly for anyone trying to get their hands on the £29.99 silk jacket, it was unavailable. This prompted Zara to issue a statement on the matter. A spokesman said: ‘The jacket was part of last season’s spring and summer collection. Unfortunately it is now unavailable.’ A similar storm had erupted when Kate Middleton had worn one of Zara’s £20 dresses in the days after the Royal Wedding in April 2011. The dress had sold out within days. But because Mary’s jacket wasn’t available, that wasn’t an option. In the days after the show, the floral bomber jacket was being sold on auction site eBay for £200 a piece – more than six times the price it had been in the shops. It was not the first time she had caused a stir with her outfits. The previous week she had worn a hot pink blazer that prompted scores of compliments. One fan said: ‘Mary Berry looking serene and wonderful tonight in her pink jacket – ageing gracefully and naturally.’ Not only was Mary loved for her baking prowess, but she was becoming a style icon too.
But as usual, the chemistry between Paul and Mary was what dominated during the course of the third series. Their natural on-screen relationship appeared to grow stronger as the series continued. And off screen they appeared to be forming a genuine friendship too. Paul told how, while driving home from filming on one occasion, he had stopped off at a McDonald’s drive-through … and tried to convince Mary to have a Big Mac. The suggestion didn’t go down well with Mary. Paul recounted the incident in an interview with the Radio Times: ‘I crave salt. We recently filmed our Christmas special and on the way back to our hotel I pulled into a drive-in McDonald’s with Bezza – that’s my pet name for Mary Berry. I’d been eating cakes all day and had a big craving. [I said:] “Big Mac, large fries …what do you want, Bezza?” She wasn’t impressed.’ Mary and Paul’s relationship was the glue that held the show together – without it, it was unclear whether the show would have been so successful. And in the third series ratings reached a peak of 6 million – a first for the show in its three-year run. It appeared unstoppable.
As the series progressed, characters were emerging and the tension was increasing as the final drew nearer. Sussex vicar’s wife Sarah-Jane became known for regularly crying on the show. Meanwhile, Bristol-based photographer Ryan was repeatedly hitting problems with his baking. Time and again, his bakes ended in disaster, toppling over or disintegrating before the judges’ eyes. After he’d had more than his fair share of second chances, he left the competition. One week the hopefuls were even spared an elimination after an on-screen drama halted filming – law student John Whaite sliced open a finger on his right hand while using an electric cake mixer. The accident happened halfway through the episode as the contestants carried out that week’s ‘showstopper challenge’. John was making a strudel and was seen wearing a blue glove. At first nothing seemed untoward, as John explained: ‘I’m having to start again because I stupidly – it’s my own fault – I put my finger in the Magimix and just slid it across the blade. It’s just knocked me off balance a little but I’ll be all right.’ But moments later he was seen sitting down as the glove filled with blood and started pouring down his arm. A pale-looking John then said: ‘I need to wash it. I keep on feeling dizzy.’ Cameras homed in on the ‘blood bath’, as it was described in the Daily Mail, and it was enough to put fans off their scones and clotted cream. One Twitter user said: ‘Not expect to see blood on the Great British Bake Off. Not hungry any more.’ Show co-host Sue Perkins gave a running commentary in her typically laconic style, saying: ‘John’s been soldiering on with a cut finger, but it’s deeper than first feared, and stretching the pastry has stretched the wound. There is a doctor in the marquee. Danny [another contestant] is an intensive care consultant.’ John asked to continue, but the cameras followed him as he was led away to get treatment for his injury. And, as he couldn’t carry on baking, in the interests of fairness, Mary and Paul decided to call off the elimination and elected to axe two contestants the following week instead. John later ret
urned with his arm in a sling, saying: ‘I’m just so gutted because I really think my strudel’s going to be amazing.’
However, the incident didn’t stop John from progressing to the show’s climax. For the first time the show had an all-male final. Alongside John were medical student James and company director Brendan. As the three men battled it out to become Britain’s best baker, much was written about the way in which the Great British Bake Off had helped to turn baking into a pastime that could be seen as more ‘macho’. This was credited in part to Paul’s tough-talking criticism – baking had become something that wasn’t just a trivial pursuit; it was something that could be taken seriously by men as well as women. As the third series came to a close a report by trade magazine The Grocer also found that home baking is on the rise among men across Britain. Again, this was credited to the Great British Bake Off, but also to another show on Channel 4, The Fabulous Baker Brothers, presented by baker Henry Herbert and his brother Tom. A spokesman for The Grocer said: ‘When it comes to doing the baking, men are showing an increasing desire to get stuck in – inspired perhaps by male role models such as The Fabulous Baker Brothers or Paul Hollywood, artisan baker and presenter of the Great British Bake Off.’
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