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Alison Hammond has been praised by viewers of The Great British Bake Off after she stepped in to console a contestant who was on the verge of quitting.
Series 15 of the popular Channel 4 show has been rife with controversy as contestants have abruptly quit and fainted, while incredibly popular and talented bakers have also been eliminated.
Tuesday night’s episode saw the contest enter the semi-final stage. Paul Hollywood challenged the four remaining bakers to create an opera cake, which is a cake with multiple layers.
However, the challenge was a bit too much to handle for Georgie, who became overwhelmed and shouted “I quit”.
Responding to the situation, Hammond quickly rushed over to comfort Georgie and give her some words of encouragement.
“Oh my god I have done it wrong”, said the baker before adding, “I don’t understand”, as she despairingly put her face in her hands.
An emotional Georgie added: “I’m going, I’ve had enough, I’m going. I just don’t want to do it. I’m done. I’m going to stand here until the end.”
Hammond then put her arm around Georgie and told her: “Listen to me, I have been where you are, you can do it”.
The This Morning host then said: “Listen to me, I’ve been where you are, what you’ve just done, listen, this is what you’re doing. You put yourself into a ‘I can’t do this’. Listen to me you’ve got this, a million per cent. Please, I’m begging ya, get that negative and throw it away right now.”
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Georgie agreed with Hammond and returned to the kitchen to finish the cake.
Viewers of the show immediately praised Hammond for the kind and gentle way that she handled the situation.
“Poor Georgie, gone into full on panic mode where your brain just goes into a ‘no, I can’t do anything’ spiral. Credit to Alison helping pull her out of it and credit to Georgie for getting something to serve,” wrote one person.
“Poor Georgie, we’ve all had panics but good old Alison helped her so much to calm down,” said another viewer.
“If Georgie wins now, she’ll have to give Alison the base of the cake stand, for getting her through the technical,” added a third fan.
Even the official Bake Off X/Twitter account wrote: “We all need an Alison pep talk sometimes.”
Fortunately for Georgie, the pep talk worked and she wasn’t eliminated. That unfortunate honour went to Gill.
In a statement posted on X/Twitter, she wrote: “What a glorious experience that was! I enjoyed every moment with a bunch of fabulous bakers. I learnt such a lot from them. Never did I expect to make eleven new friends in my 50s. I was so far out of my comfort zone. [The] Technical [challenges] definitely brought back my exam panic – apparently you never grow out of that!
“I have been fortunate to have wonderful family and friends. All my bakes have been dedicated to special people and fond memories. Revisiting these was a joy I did not anticipate. I have to mention my wonderful (and annoying!) husband Steve. Without his support I would not have been successful, both in the Tent and life itself.
“To my sister V, thank you for encouraging (bullying) me to apply when I never would. Also huge thanks to all the production team who couldn’t do enough to help and support. Life in the Tent is as lovely as it appears. I have no idea where this experience will take me next, but I am looking forward to finding out. Bye for now my giddy kippers. Take care, Gill.”
