Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Ian Hyland

'Why the hell did the GBBO do a Halloween special two weeks early?'

Eight million viewers of The Great British Bake Off might have been forgiven for asking questions about dates on Tuesday night.

Nothing to do with the dried fruit used in the showstopper round, though. More a case of, "Why the hell are they doing a Halloween special two weeks before the big day?"

Even if the thinking was that we might want to try the recipes at home it was still a week too early. What are they doing next Tuesday? Mince pies and chocolate logs for Christmas?

Still, Channel 4 's casual attitude to the calendar was in keeping with the general "sod it, that'll do" feel that this spooky special had to it.

The latest episode of the Great British Bake Off was Halloween-themed (Channel 4 / Love Productions / Mark Bourdillon)

It was almost as if someone at the production team's morning ideas meeting had said, "I suppose we could always do Halloween" and, one lunchtime trip to Wilko later, the tent was ready.

A few orange and black balloons here, the odd plastic witch’s broom or £1 cobweb spray there.

Admittedly, at one point I did think they had pushed the boat out with a giant inflated pumpkin. Then I realised Paul Hollywood had simply overdone it on the orange fake tan again.

The set was given somewhat of makeover for it (Instagram)

Do you enjoy reading about celebrities? Sign up for all the best celeb news from the Mirror here .

I'm even willing to bet that those three life-sized plastic skeletons were merely on loan from Noel Fielding 's dressing room for the day.

At least the bakers got into the spirit of things with their makeup and costumes. Special mention to (the eventual winner, surely?) Janusz and the increasingly pleased-with-himself Sandro.

As for the hosts and judges, full marks to Noel for his skeleton bodysuit, to Prue for her massive orange and black chunky necklace and to Matt Lucas for coming as Uncle Fester*.

Some of the contestants had dressed up too (Instagram)

Paul, meanwhile, was dressed in jeans and a blue shirt. Come on, Paul. Play the game, mate. Even Simon Cowell wore plastic Dracula teeth once on The X Factor.

Obviously, they were less scary than his actual teeth – but, hey, at least he made the effort.

*Yes, I did think twice about doing that baldie Uncle Fester line. But then I remembered Matt was perfectly happy stereotyping Mexicans the other week, so I figured he wouldn’t mind the banter.

Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@mirror.co.uk or call us direct 0207 29 33033.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.