8 of Our Favorite ‘Great Celebrity Bake Off’ Star Turns, From Teri Hatcher to James Blunt
The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer recently announced its Season 4 stars, and the line-up’s kind of glitzy. In the mix: Daisy Ridley, James McAvoy, Little Mix singer Jade Thirlwall and hip-hop star Dizzee Rascal.
But do any of them know flour from sugar?
The Great Stand Up To Cancer Bake Off returns this Spring! Here are the celebs daring to enter our tent for a great cause… #GBBO pic.twitter.com/dhhppn0xcV
— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) January 28, 2021
Since its 2018 debut on the U.K.’s Channel 4, this celeb spinoff of The Great British Bake Off has seen its share of famous folks — four compete each episode — in the tent, some who can bake and some who absolutely can not. But judging kitchen skills are only one reason to watch; the other is for the entertainment value. Below, the 8 top moments in a show with no shortage of them.
Teri Hatcher: Season 1
RT if you’d react just like Teri Hatcher when she first entered the tent! #GBBO pic.twitter.com/H4KK9ptkMw
— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) April 3, 2018
The Desperate Housewives alum couldn’t contain her excitement to join the competition — and she won Star Baker after wowing judge Paul Hollywood with her biscuits-and-gravy muffins.
The also-rans of the episode — Paralympian Kadeena Cox, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK judge Alan Carr, and comedian Aisling Bea — just had to take their lumps.
John Lithgow: Season 2
It only took John Lithgow ten minutes before he accidentally dyed his lips blue he’s one of my favourites #GBBO pic.twitter.com/EgBAQVe6yR
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) March 5, 2019
When he wasn’t having a food dye malfunction and mucking up his Swiss roll in this Season 2 episode, the Emmy winner was channeling his onscreen alter-ego from The Crown, creating a figure of Winston Churchill out of gingerbread.
Nevertheless, he, comedian Jon Richardson, and Paralympian Hannah Cockroft lost to…
Russell Brand: Season 2
The English comedian and Ballers actor won his episode, and had the whole tent in tears from laughing. He made football jersey-themed brownies for the Signature Challenge, but just wait until you hear about his Showstopper creation:
“I’m commemorating in the medium of biscuit the birth of my second daughter, in which I actuated the role of ‘Father,’’ he told the giggling judges. “This is the sort of thing that Picasso would have tried, isn’t it?”
Russell Tovey: Season 2
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The Sister star — and Quantico alum — botched his cream horns, which meant he lost, along with comedian James Acaster and reality TV fan favorite Rylan Clark-Neal, to actress Michelle Keegan. But on the bright side, Tovey tickled viewers with his innuendo-laden narration: “I’m coating the instrument with lubricating butter,” he said at one point.
Greg Wise: Season 2
Greg Wise is well known for Sense and Sensibility, but it’s taste and tastibility we’re after in the Bake Off tent! Bake a leg, dear sir! [Not literally. Please.] #GBBO pic.twitter.com/VqeUajb7u2
— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) April 2, 2019
The actor (The Crown and Strange Angel) — who, by the way, is married to Emma Thompson — crafted a nut cake with jam from his own garden before making a “showstopping” self-portrait out of cookies. He bested his competition — boxer Nicola Adams, journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy, and late TV presenter Caroline Flack — and impressed Hollywood.
“You don’t bake much?” Hollywood asked him. “You should, because you’ve got a real talent for food obviously, and that is exceptional.”
Richard Dreyfuss: Season 3
The Richard Dreyfuss classic. Coming soon to a toilet near you. 💩#GBBO pic.twitter.com/0f8zeJjKmN
— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) March 17, 2020
The judges thought this Oscar winner’s “Close Encounter Volcano Cake” looked like a certain emoji, or, as host Sandi Toksvig put it, more like “Close Encounters of the Turd Kind.” But at least Hollywood said it tasted “amazing.”
Still, the actor lost his Series 3 episode to comedian James Buckley, as did fellow contestants Patsy Palmer of EastEnders fame and Scarlett Moffat of Gogglebox renown.
Tan France: Season 3
As he worked his way to a Season 3 victory — stealing the win from tennis star Johanna Konta, The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes cohost Caroline Quentin, and Impractical Jokers UK star Joel Dommett — the resident fashion expert on Queer Eye “took the piss” out of Hollywood.
“Could you imagine Paul trying to style people?” France said on the show. “I wonder if he’s made more of an effort because he knows that I do this for a living, because he looks better than he’s looked ever.”
James Blunt: Season 3
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Despite his best attempts at Yorkshire puddings and biscuits, the English singer-songwriter behind 2005’s inescapable No. 1 hit “You’re Beautiful” lost his bout to English YouTube star Joe Sugg, as did Big Brother personality Alison Hammond and The One Show presenter Alex Jones. This, despite Sugg passing out midway through the competition!
The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer, Season 4, TBA
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