Paul Hollywood branded Gemma Collins’ attempt at a showstopper on The Great Celebrity Bake Off“appalling”.
The Only Way is Essex star was one of the contestants on the Stand Up To Cancer charity edition of Bake Off on Sunday (26 March), where she appeared alongside Jessica Hynes, Tim Key and AJ Odudu.
In the showstopper round, the competitors were asked to recreate the earliest childhood experience they can remember in a choux pastry form, with Collins opting to encapsulate her memory of her mum buying a pair of fluffy mules for her from Woolworths.
Beginning the challenge, the reality star said that she was “putting a lot of effort” into her sculpture, adding: “I’m getting that apron if it kills me.”
After piping “that fluffy mule that changed my life and got me into showbiz”, however, the pastry emerged from the oven flat, while the pistachio and rose ganache was overly wet.
“The choux’s gone wrong. Nah, not sure how I’m gonna pull this one off,” Collins said, while pouring sprinkles over her disastrous bake and saying that she’d changed it from a shoe to a handbag.
“I’m gonna carry on in this competition, but I know I’ve lost already. I can already feel it.”
Watching from the side, Prue Leith said: “I can’t bear to watch this any longer. It’s agony.”
When time was up, the contestants presented their choux sculptures, with Collins admitting hers was “not my best work”.
“You don’t want to hear this, but the pastry’s not cooked,” Leith told Collins, while Hollywood joked that they would make good pasties.
“Don’t worry, you don’t need to make it up anymore,” Collins said. “It was a disaster, I fully accept it. Being this close to Paul Hollywood, it’s all gotta be worth it.”
Judging the bakes at the end of the episode, Hollywood said: “I thought the showstoppers were diverse. I thought Gemma’s was appalling, but a good effort.”
The Great Celebrity Bake Off continues Sunday 2 April at 7.40pm on Channel 4.
