{"title":"I was a Great British Bake Off contestant","description":"Howard Middleton lifts the lid on life inside the famous tent and reveals why contestants could spend hours waiting around between bakes.","custom_path":"/en-gb/pages/pr/gbbo-howard","heading":"","heading_tag":"h1","nofollow":false,"noindex":false,"has_custom_schema":false,"schema_json":null,"has_toc":false,"alternate_languages":[],"copy_sections":[{"toc_title":"","title":"\u003ch2 class=\"bvs-h2\"\u003eSpeaking to Smooth Spins Casino, former GBBO contestant Howard Middleton reveals:\u003c/h2\u003e","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat was the application process like?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI think it's well known that there's an application form to begin with. You send it in and answer questions about what's the most memorable bake you've done, what your experience is and how often you bake certain things and so on. Then, we had a telephone call. I think they choose a certain number of people to check that you're being truthful about what you've put on the application form.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe next stage was an in-person audition where we had to take a couple of bakes along, and they were tasted, and we talked about those. Then there was a screen test to see that you're okay on camera, and then the final round of auditions was at a cookery school. We had to take a couple of bakes along to that. Then, they do a mock-up of a technical challenge, so you are baking against the clock with cameras on you, and you're tested on how quick you are. I remember I couldn't get the scales to work. They'd bought the cheapest scales they could possibly find that morning. I think they must have thought, this man is so inept that actually he'd be quite entertaining on TV. I'm quite convinced of that.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWas it as nerve-wracking as it looks on screen?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYes. There are lovely moments, particularly for me during bread week, and obviously you don't see the downtime when bakers are waiting for bread to prove and so on, because it doesn't make great TV. But I remember one of the runners bringing a drink, and you're sitting on a stool and waiting for your bread to prove, and I thought, ‘What a lovely opportunity just to take a breath and reflect upon the fact that you're sitting in the Bake Off tent and having a cup of tea.’ You have five or ten minutes, and then it's all go again. I think that little bit of downtime that you get is so precious.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnother thing that's surprising about being in the tent is that you are so focused on your own thing, and particularly if you are on one of the benches towards the front of the tent, you don't have time to be looking around at what everybody else is doing. Particularly during the technical challenges, you can be so focused on your bake that you could be thinking, ‘I've had an absolute disaster with this.’ I remember with the custard tarts, I couldn't get them out of the tins. And I thought, ‘I'm going to be at the bottom here,’ and then you turn around, and you think, ‘Oh, thank goodness for that, everybody else has had the same problem!’\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you’re on one of the benches at the back, you have more of an advantage because you can survey what's happening. They do change up where you are positioned. Each episode is filmed over two days, and at the beginning of those two days, which is usually a Saturday, you're told where your bench is going to be for this week. They rotate them so everybody is in a different place. Then you suddenly realise, as the benches get taken out, how the numbers are dwindling.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat surprised you most about being on the show?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI think it would be the amount of waiting around. It's obviously edited so that it's quite sharp. People often say, if it's a three-hour bake, ‘Is it actually three hours?’ And it absolutely is. There's no extra time given or anything like that. But once you've finished your bake, you're immediately taken out of the tent, and then they do a bit of cleaning up. Then, you've got all of the close-up shots they do of each bake. So you could be waiting an hour or so before they even start judging. So, there's a lot of nervous downtime as well, which is surprising, I think.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAny strange rules for filming that you didn't realise as a viewer?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI think the only rules as such are to do with the technical side of it. You can't put anything in the oven or take it out without having a camera on you because they want the shot of you putting things in the oven or taking them out. So you have to call for a camera and say, ‘I'm going in, or I'm coming out.’ If there is no camera available at that time and you think, ‘This needs to come out,’ you are allowed to take it out, but they'll have to reshoot that bit in order for them to have a shot of you taking it out of the oven.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe other thing is that they construct the way that you talk about stuff. So there's a producer coming round asking, ‘What are you doing now?’ And you have to speak in complete sentences, so you'll have to say, ‘Well, at the moment I'm just rolling this pastry out.’ You can't just say ‘rolling pastry ’- so you have to learn how to construct things in complete sentences for the camera.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMel and Sue were hosts when you were on the show, what were they like off camera?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThey were so funny. They were lovely. I remember there was one occasion where Mel came up and asked whether I wanted a cup of tea. And there were no cameras or anything like that. She actually asked one of the runners to get one for me; she didn't make it herself, but it was just that consideration and warmth, which was very genuine.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePast contestants have said they used to swear when contestants were having a hard time because they knew the producers wouldn't be able to use the footage, and it would spare them having that on film. Any other secret things you all used to do?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI think it was certainly something that Mel and Sue would do. If they thought that one of the bakers was getting in a bit of a pickle or frustrated by something, they would swear so that footage couldn't be used. I had the full uncensored version of Bake Off that included all kinds of dirty jokes, swearing and things like that.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat were Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry like?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThey have a job to do. I don't think you realise how little time they're actually in the tent. They will come and walk around to ask you what you're actually baking, and then they'll revisit for the judging. They might pop up for a few shots in between, but most of the time they are out of the tent, relaxing, watching box sets or whatever. So you don't spend that much time with them.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe part where they come round to your station is known as the royal tour. So they often made an announcement, saying ‘10 minutes to the royal tour, 10 minutes to the royal tour’.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDid they appear to get on off-camera?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAbsolutely. As you watch the seasons, I think there was the relationship developed between Paul and Mary. There was more humour and definitely more respect for each other's different views. So, I think they have become very close as far as I could see.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYou were involved in the infamous Custardgate; tell us about that ordeal? How did you really feel about it?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI realised pretty quickly that I was having a bit of bad luck. So, in week one, I'd only been in the tent for about 10 minutes, and I managed to cut the end of my thumb by slicing into a passion fruit! In week two, during the technical challenge, I'd put some English muffins to prove under a tea towel, and then Sue came over. We had a chat and leaned on the bench, not realising there was anything underneath it.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy week three, I'm thinking, ‘Can I just have a week where nothing goes wrong?’ And that was the week of Custardgate. We were making trifles. Mary Berry said I was being ‘the bravest of the brave’ for attempting a crème glaze as the custard in my trifle. And then I came to the point where I wanted to put the custard into the trifle. I went to the fridge, and it wasn't there. I thought I was having a bit of a senior moment where I'd already got it out, and I had just forgotten and put it on a bench. Then, I spotted that Deborah, one of the other bakers, had got it on her bench instead. It was by accident - and I wouldn't say I was hysterical, but just thinking, ‘This is typical of my Bake Off experience!’ I'm just going to go through this, and it’s going to make great TV. They had to judge the separate components in both of our trifles after that.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDid producers ever do anything to create more drama?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNo, I don't think they needed to. They told us, to begin with, not to worry if we drop anything when you're taking it out of the oven because it will just make great TV. And if you think, ‘I don't want to make great TV, I just want to do really well.’ But no, they didn't construct anything in that way. It's all as you see, apart from sometimes the editing just makes it. Although, as I was saying earlier, you get three hours for a three-hour bake; in the editing, they might use a bit of footage from earlier on, so people can ice cakes in 30 seconds, just to give that extra bit of drama.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYou technically lose time when the judges come round to chat to you; is that annoying? Did you ever want to tell them to go away?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI wouldn't say it's annoying, but you are conscious of it. Obviously you've practised the bakes at home, and you know what you can do within the time. But you then have to factor in the fact that you are going to get distracted at certain points, whether that's by the judges or the presenters.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd the other thing I thought was, I didn’t really want to be doing anything really delicate or difficult at the point when they come around. So, you’re thinking ahead about when they would be on their way, and planning what I can do that isn’t too fragile and where they are going to see my hands shaking.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDo you get any money towards ingredients for your showstoppers?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe had a bit of an allowance, which was so small. I'm hoping that inflation has put it up now, but I think it was about £10 a show or something like that. So, towards ingredients for practising. You get all the ingredients that you're actually using in the bakes. They're all ordered and there for you, so you don't have to take anything along - except if you're using something that maybe is a hard-to-get ingredient, where it's just easier if I take that along rather than asking them to get it.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat are your thoughts on this year’s line-up?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYeah, they look like a very confident bunch - they look very exuberant. They're quite a young bunch, which is nice to have a mix from other seasons. It will be interesting to see how that contrasts, and how the promotional photos actually contrast with what they're like when they're in the Bake Off tent.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat are your thoughts on the current hosts Alison and Noel?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI think they're lovely. Noel has really kind of become the stalwart of it, hasn't he? You always expect that really surreal sense of humour. And then Alison is just so bubbly and friendly and prepared to do stuff that is likely to end up with her on her back or whatever. I think the dynamic between them is really special.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow do you think the show has changed over the years - for the better or worse?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo begin with, during the Mary Berry period, there was a lot of focus on bakers making everything from scratch. You couldn't take ready-made fondant or anything like that. If there was jam in your recipe, you had to make it from scratch. I remember one of my recipes had a bit of marmalade in it, and Mary was not happy that I wasn't making my own marmalade, so that wasn’t good.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI think they've relaxed it a little bit now. During Prue's time, you could take some fondant in and still do something wonderful. You don't have to make your icing completely from scratch. I'm hopeful that we'll see a bit more of that with Nigella as well, just accepting that there are different ways of showing your skill and making everything from scratch is not necessarily a test of that.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow competitive did it actually feel between the contestants? Any more behind-the-scenes insights that you would like to share?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI think it depends upon the individual. I think certain people had a naturally competitive streak. I suppose I would have loved to have got through to the final or won; that would have been great. But at the same time, it's a shared experience, so you are encouraging the others because you don't really want anybody to go. There's a part of you that wants somebody else to do worse than you so you don't go out, but at the same time, as you grow close to people, you don't really want it to be anybody else. I often thought, ‘Could we not just have a week where nobody goes?’\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIs there anything else that happens behind the scenes that viewers wouldn’t know about from watching the show on TV?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt the back of the tent there is an area where the washing up is done. There was a system we had where if you wanted something to wash up, you left it in your sink, and one of the runners would take it to the back to wash. But most of the time, you’re just waiting for this item to be washed up because everyone is doing the exact same thing. So, it then ended up being that if we wanted something washed up, we would just do it ourselves; otherwise, you’d run out of time!\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was the same when we talked about Custardgate. Every single spoon was being washed up behind the scenes at the time. Sometimes it's just better to do it yourself rather than waiting. I think nowadays every baker has a sink, but I think in our series, for the first few weeks, not every bench had one, which was a bit of a difficult one to deal with.\u003c/p\u003e"}]}