Latest news with #JuniorBakeOff
Scotsman
29-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Bake Off: The Professionals final: who are Channel 4 judges?
Bake Off: The Professionals features familiar faces on the judging team in 2025 🍰 Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Bake Off: The Professionals is back for another season on Channel 4. The show once again has the same judging duo. But who are they and what are they known for? In just a matter of hours, Bake Off: The Professionals will crown the winners of series 10. It has been another hard fought season and the competition has been fierce. Channel 4 has confirmed the start time for tonight's (July 29) final. Find out what challenges are waiting for the three pairs in the final this evening. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Since debuting back in the mid-2010s, two of the judges have remained the same. Here's all you need to know: Who are the judges on Bake Off: The Professionals? Bake Off: The Professionals judges Cherish Finden (L) and Benoit Blin (R) | Channel 4 It will be a pair of familiar faces on judging duty for the 10th series of Bake-Off: The Professionals. Benoit Blin and Cherish Finden are returning to cast an expert eye, and several thousand expert tastebuds, over the contestants' creations. Blin is best known as the Chef Pâtissier at Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons. He said: 'What I've really noticed is that the gap between the strongest and weakest teams has narrowed so much. And when you reach the second or third stage of the competition, you see the teams are all really close together. I think now all the teams really understand what the competition is all about, so they prepare a little better.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Finden is formerly Executive Pastry Chef of the Pan Pacific London Hotel. Speaking ahead of series 10, she added: 'Hitting our 10th anniversary is like pulling a perfectly risen soufflé out of the oven – pure joy and satisfaction. Every series brings fresh talent, new surprises, and breathtaking creations. 'It is amazing to see how they evolve. I'm honoured to still be part of this journey and continue to inspire and challenge the best pastry in the industry.' Both Blin and Finden have been judges on the show since it began back in 2016 on BBC Two - when it was originally called Bake Off: Crème de la Crème. The duo have judged on all 10 series, including the one airing in 2025. Who are the hosts on Bake Off: The Professionals? Unlike the judges, the hosts of the show have changed a lot of the 10 series so far. Over the years the likes of Tom Kerridge, Angus Deayton and Tom Allen have presented the show. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad For series 10, former Great British Bake Off contestant and Junior Bake Off judge Liam Charles and comedian, actress and writer Ellie Taylor will be on presenting duties. They have hosted it together since series eight - with Liam first becoming a host on the show in series three. Liam said: 'I feel like the chemistry between myself, Cherish, Benoit, and latterly Ellie, just gets better and better the more time we spend with each other. I also think the challenges have got a lot harder. 'I know that's a bit rich coming from me, who can't do most of the challenges, but they seem to me to have got more difficult as the years have passed. The chefs are using a lot of cool new techniques as well. I think the show has just become a little more slick as time has gone by.' If you love TV, check out our Screen Babble podcast to get the latest in TV and film.
Times
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Harry Hill: My kids tell me, ‘You can't say that, Dad'
Comedian Matthew Hall, known as Harry Hill, 60, grew up in Kent and started his career as a doctor. His comedy breakthrough came when he won the Perrier award for best newcomer at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1992. Harry Hill's TV Burp, the show he presented for 11 years, won three Bafta TV awards. He also narrated You've Been Framed! for 18 years and now presents Junior Bake Off. He lives in Kent with his wife, Magda Archer, with whom he has three daughters. I've had friends who have been 'cancelled'. They worry about it. But on the whole, unless they've done something really awful, everyone has forgotten about it. There are so many people being cancelled every day; it's like a build-up of bodies. I typed into Chat GPT, 'Write an original routine in the style of Harry Hill.' It wasn't even funny, ironically — AI doesn't have any idea about writing jokes. So I don't worry about it taking my place. I went to school in my glasses and got teased. Kids would say, 'Can I have a go with your glasses?' They'd take them off me and pass them around. It was an awful feeling. To this day, if anyone asks to try on my glasses for selfies, it makes me really antsy. I made a conscious effort to wear glasses when I became a comic because I remember whenever someone wore glasses on TV. Audiences are more alert to the idea that they might be offended. Certain words or things make them anxious. They're thinking, 'Oh no, I hope he's not going to say something that we will need to be offended by.' My kids pick me up on stuff – they say, 'No, you can't say that, Dad.' Which is helpful, because you don't want people to be offended. The responsibility of being a doctor was pretty scary. I was never as nervous going on stage as I was being 'on call'. It was people having heart attacks and strokes, so I was thinking, if I get this wrong… We were all doing these long hours and were treated really badly by our superiors and we couldn't push back. It was one of the low points for the health service. • Read more TV reviews, guides about what to watch and interviews It shows you how bad things have got when doctors are going on strike. Because the whole health service is run on the goodwill of the doctors and nurses. Once that's gone, the whole game's up. Bill Bailey and Chris McCausland have screwed it up for every comedian who thought about going on Strictly Come Dancing. If you're a 60-year-old out-of-shape bloke who can't dance, what hope have you got? Everyone gets divorced now, but in the Seventies it was a bit taboo. You had to do a lot of explaining to people because it was quite unusual. [Hill's parents divorced when he was just starting primary school.] It wasn't very pleasant. When you get a bit older, you don't particularly want to go and stay with your dad for the weekend. Chris McCausland is an inspiration. I did a TV show with him and it was fantastic spending time with someone who can't see — a real education for me. I was supposed to be looking after him, but the first day he got in the car and banged his head. The producer was saying, 'Where were you?' I kept my kids away from the TV studio and showbiz. I didn't want them going into it just because it looked glamorous or fun. The truth is, for any success in this game you've got to be very pushy. They've come with me on the road for my most recent tour. It's been interesting for them to see what it involves: a lot of time spent on the North Circular and eating sandwiches. I don't have fond memories of a lot of the stuff I did, even though it was successful. It just seems like a blur and a lot of stress. I don't do any exercise. I never have. It's revenge. At school, PE is the one subject where, if you're not very good at it, the teacher picks on you. I always had crappy kit — I used to get a lot of hand-me-downs. Art is therapeutic. At medical school, I had a sketchbook on which I used to take out my frustration. People spend money on meditation and yoga, but art is a very low-cost hobby. In the old days, I'd do a gig then have a drink and a laugh. Now I get in the car, fall asleep, do the show, get back in the car and fall asleep. But I don't think I've ever enjoyed it as much as I do now. Harry Hill voices Bristles the talking paintbrush in Go Get Arty, available on CBBC and BBC iPlayer
Daily Record
20-06-2025
- Daily Record
'I went to Butlin's for the first time on my own and three words sum it up'
Walking into Butlin's Bognor Regis, two things were crystal clear. One, I was the only child-free person for miles. And two, it was going to be an epic weekend. As a resident of the United Kingdom, I was recently told that going to a Butlin's was a rite of passage. As a relatively new resident of the United Kingdom - I had absolutely no idea what Butlin's was. So naturally I decided to spend a weekend at the closest one I could find, stat. For some context - I moved from India to the UK in June last year and holiday parks were not a popular concept back at home. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find one, especially of the same scale and renown. So off I went to Butlin's Bognor Regis to have myself a 'typically British' holiday break. To be fair, Butlin's isn't a holiday park. It's a holiday resort with all the frills and fancies to keep oneself entertained within its (expansive) boundary walls. Although a literal stone's throw away from the beach, that's not the Butlin's USP. The resort chain prides itself at having enough activities on offer within its premises that guests don't feel the need to turn to the beach for excitement. Walking into Butlin's with my partner during the May Bank Holiday weekend, almost immediately two things were crystal clear. One, my partner and I were perhaps the only child-free couple for miles. And two, it was going to be a wild weekend. The Rooms Butlin's Bognor Regis has three hotels within its premises - the Shoreline, Ocean, and Wave Hotels - along with the Comfort range of rooms and apartments. I was staying at the Wave Hotel which was fairly close to the action, and quite frankly, delightful. Entering the room, we were greeted by a neon blue glow (it was there in the name, really), yellow interiors, and the most adorable junior room for kids - outfitted with bunkbeds and a quirky porthole on the door. My 30-year-old self was so excited to have a lie-in on those bunk beds (complete with their own mini-TVs on each level), that I could only imagine how chuffed a child would be to have that space all to themselves. Entertainment Butlin's signature white tents hold a whole world within themselves. Complete with an arcade, a bowling alley, pool tables, a couple of bars, restaurants, and a few stages for entertainment shows in and around the space - it's hard to imagine being bored within its tented walls. You best believe I was a sucker for the arcade games, enjoying myself as much as the swarms of elated children around me. On closer inspection, I found I wasn't the only adult indulging. Seeing the parents in my vicinity become kids themselves was a joy to watch. A spirited game of bowling and a few rounds of pool later, I was in my 11-year-old self's childhood paradise. For those with kids, there were heaps of live shows on offer including The Masked Singer hosted by Mark Rhodes (of Crackerjack and CBBCs Junior Bake Off fame) featuring masked celebrity participants, Electric Wonderland, Iconic, Snow White and her Magnificent Friends, Animals and Mythical Beasts, and even a meet-and-greet with Gladiators stars Cyclone and Nitro. They were always jam-packed, and with the energy radiating out of them, it wasn't difficult to understand why. The PLAYXPERIENCE A brand-new addition to Butlin's Bognor Regis' already jam-packed holiday resort is the PLAYXPERIENCE. Having opened its doors to the public in October 2024, the PLAYXPERIENCE was definitely a highlight of my first-ever Butlin's weekend. Sprawled over two floors and nearly 50,000 square feet, it's undoubtedly a haven for gamers and fans of modern tech. A VR Cade featuring state-of-the-art VR games, laser tag, techputt (mini-golf), digi darts, escape rooms, glow pong, shuffleboard, a batting cage, and neo games - there's something for everyone is this gamer's paradise. Equipped with a bar and cafe within the premises, it was safe to say me and my passion fruit daiquiri had a great time while indulging in some neon mini golf. Another definite highlight was playing laser tag with mischievous kids and their equally (over) enthusiastic parents. Turns out, adrenaline-fuelled, cutthroat competitiveness is all one needs to get the morning going. As we squared off into four teams, it was once again apparent to me that the adults were enjoying themselves as much as the kids. That seemed to be the magic of Butlin's. Food and drink The Butlin's all inclusive drinks package felt like a no-brainer. With a good selection of cocktails, spirits, beers, ciders, wines, mocktails, Costa coffee, and soft drinks on offer - it's almost worth walking around with a pulsing neon-orange wristband for three days. It helps that most of the drinks are fairly delicious and get the job more than done. And with well-placed bars and restaurants throughout the resort site, we never had to go too long without refreshments. There were plenty of options no matter what your budget, whether we were after breakfast or a buffet dinner. We had the premium dining package booked which sorted our breakfast and dinner on each of the days. Breakfast timings were 8am to 10:30am on all days, and while the spread was extensive and catered to both kids and adults, the actual taste and quality of the food was average for me. But I guess you can't have everything. We were also surprised when we walked in at 10am the first day - I guess everyone wakes up really, really early as we definitely felt like the odd ones out, with people looking at us like we had two heads! The next day we made it at 9.45am but I still think everyone gets up really early and fuels up - which for me, being the person who likes to maximise sleep and get breakfast at the last minute, was not ideal. Fairground and Splash Waterworld A cute little fairground was the cherry on top of my Butlin's weekend. From go-karts and adventure golf, to mini-rides and a trampoline - the pre-booked All-Action Pass proved to be a success. My inner Lewis Hamilton came out to play in a spirited round of karting (in which I came first - and no, it doesn't matter that I was one of a handful of adults competing against mainly children). While I didn't take a swim, the faces of happy families walking around with wet hair and huge smiles plastered on their faces was enough to tell me it would've been a fun experience (when it wasn't raining and unbelievably windy). So, how did my first Butlin's visit rank as far as holidays go? Three days of fun, games, activities, and kids. Lots and lots and lots of kids. Perhaps the next time I'll return is when I have a little one of my own. Book the holiday Butlin's offers a three-night Showtime Weekend break featuring staying in a two bedroom Ocean Hotel room in Bognor Regis from £269 on 11 July 2025. Price is based on a two adults sharing and includes all live shows and activities with free flow access to the pool, unlimited fairground rides and access to PLAYXPERIENCE. Dining packages start from £24.95 per adult, per day, £14.95 per junior (6-14), per day and £6.80 per child (2-5). To find out more head to
Daily Mirror
20-06-2025
- Daily Mirror
'I had never heard of Butlin's but the moment I turned up I knew it'd be wild'
As a resident of the United Kingdom, I was recently told that going to a Butlin's was a rite of passage. As a relatively new resident of the United Kingdom — I had absolutely no idea what Butlin's was. So naturally I decided to spend a weekend at the closest one I could find, stat. For some context — I moved from India to the UK in June last year and holiday parks were not a popular concept back at home. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find one, especially of the same scale and renown. So off I went to Butlin's Bognor Regis to have myself a 'typically British' holiday break. To be fair, Butlin's isn't a holiday park. It's a holiday resort with all the frills and fancies to keep oneself entertained within its (expansive) boundary walls. Although a literal stone's throw away from the beach, that's not the Butlin's USP. The resort chain prides itself at having enough activities on offer within its premises that guests don't feel the need to turn to the beach for excitement. Walking into Butlin's with my partner during the May Bank Holiday weekend, almost immediately two things were crystal clear. One, my partner and I were perhaps the only child-free couple for miles. And two, it was going to be a wild weekend. Butlin's Bognor Regis has three hotels within its premises — the Shoreline, Ocean, and Wave Hotels — along with the Comfort range of rooms and apartments. I was staying at the Wave Hotel which was fairly close to the action, and quite frankly, delightful. Entering the room, we were greeted by a neon blue glow (it was there in the name, really), yellow interiors, and the most adorable junior room for kids — outfitted with bunkbeds and a quirky porthole on the door. My 30-year-old self was so excited to have a lie-in on those bunk beds (complete with their own mini-TVs on each level), that I could only imagine how chuffed a child would be to have that space all to themselves. Butlin's signature white tents hold a whole world within themselves. Complete with an arcade, a bowling alley, pool tables, a couple of bars, restaurants, and a few stages for entertainment shows in and around the space — it's hard to imagine being bored within its tented walls. You best believe I was a sucker for the arcade games, enjoying myself as much as the swarms of elated children around me. On closer inspection, I found I wasn't the only adult indulging. Seeing the parents in my vicinity become kids themselves was a joy to watch. A spirited game of bowling and a few rounds of pool later, I was in my 11-year-old self's childhood paradise. For those with kids, there were heaps of live shows on offer including The Masked Singer hosted by Mark Rhodes (of Crackerjack and CBBCs Junior Bake Off fame) featuring masked celebrity participants, Electric Wonderland, Iconic, Snow White and her Magnificent Friends, Animals and Mythical Beasts, and even a meet-and-greet with Gladiators stars Cyclone and Nitro. They were always jam-packed, and with the energy radiating out of them, it wasn't difficult to understand why. A brand-new addition to Butlin's Bognor Regis' already jam-packed holiday resort is the PLAYXPERIENCE. Having opened its doors to the public in October 2024, the PLAYXPERIENCE was definitely a highlight of my first-ever Butlin's weekend. Sprawled over two floors and nearly 50,000 square feet, it's undoubtedly a haven for gamers and fans of modern tech. A VR Cade featuring state-of-the-art VR games, laser tag, techputt (mini-golf), digi darts, escape rooms, glow pong, shuffleboard, a batting cage, and neo games — there's something for everyone is this gamer's paradise. Equipped with a bar and cafe within the premises, it was safe to say me and my passion fruit daiquiri had a great time while indulging in some neon mini golf. Another definite highlight was playing laser tag with mischievous kids and their equally (over) enthusiastic parents. Turns out, adrenaline-fuelled, cutthroat competitiveness is all one needs to get the morning going. As we squared off into four teams, it was once again apparent to me that the adults were enjoying themselves as much as the kids. That seemed to be the magic of Butlin's. The Butlin's all inclusive drinks package felt like a no-brainer. With a good selection of cocktails, spirits, beers, ciders, wines, mocktails, Costa coffee, and soft drinks on offer — it's almost worth walking around with a pulsing neon-orange wristband for three days. It helps that most of the drinks are fairly delicious and get the job more than done. And with well-placed bars and restaurants throughout the resort site, we never had to go too long without refreshments. There were plenty of options no matter what your budget, whether we were after breakfast or a buffet dinner. We had the premium dining package booked which sorted our breakfast and dinner on each of the days. Breakfast timings were 8am to 10:30am on all days, and while the spread was extensive and catered to both kids and adults, the actual taste and quality of the food was average for me. But I guess you can't have everything. We were also surprised when we walked in at 10am the first day - I guess everyone wakes up really, really early as we definitely felt like the odd ones out, with people looking at us like we had two heads! The next day we made it at 9.45am but I still think everyone gets up really early and fuels up - which for me, being the person who likes to maximise sleep and get breakfast at the last minute, was not ideal. A cute little fairground was the cherry on top of my Butlin's weekend. From go-karts and adventure golf, to mini-rides and a trampoline — the pre-booked All-Action Pass proved to be a success. My inner Lewis Hamilton came out to play in a spirited round of karting (in which I came first - and no, it doesn't matter that I was one of a handful of adults competing against mainly children). While I didn't take a swim, the faces of happy families walking around with wet hair and huge smiles plastered on their faces was enough to tell me it would've been a fun experience (when it wasn't raining and unbelievably windy). So, how did my first Butlin's visit rank as far as holidays go? Three days of fun, games, activities, and kids. Lots and lots and lots of kids. Perhaps the next time I'll return is when I have a little one of my own. Butlin's offers a three-night Showtime Weekend break featuring staying in a two bedroom Ocean Hotel room in Bognor Regis from £269 on 11 July 2025. Price is based on a two adults sharing and includes all live shows and activities with free flow access to the pool, unlimited fairground rides and access to PLAYXPERIENCE. Dining packages start from £24.95 per adult, per day, £14.95 per junior (6-14), per day and £6.80 per child (2-5). To find out more head to
Daily Record
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Great British Bake Off's Prue Leith addresses future on show after 'planning to quit'
The Great British Bake Off's Prue Leith has spoken out about her future on the show, after admitting that she threatened to quit the Bake Off universe entirely Dame Prue Leith considered her departure from the Great British Bake Off empire due to its demanding nature but opted to remain in parts of it after a pivotal chat with Love Productions. Alongside The Great British Bake Off are various spin-offs such as the celebrity edition, Junior Bake Off, and the Great American Baking Show, which Prue found intense, prompting thoughts of stepping down entirely at 85-years-old. On the Spooning with Mark Wogan podcast, she spoke about the impact of her non-stop schedule since joining the hit Channel 4 series. She said: "What happened was I thought I've got to have a summer holiday. This is ridiculous, I've been working from April to September without a break for eight years. "At that point it was for seven years. So, I went to the bosses, 'I'm going to quit. I can't do this anymore'. And it hadn't occurred to me to say, 'Can I quit some of it?'. "I just thought I had to do it all which was, at the time, Celebrity Bake Off, Great British Bake Off, Great American Baking Show, which is the same thing, and I had been doing junior bake off." The response was a pleasant surprise to Prue, who acknowledged how amenable the producers were when she broached the subject. She revealed: "And they said 'Why don't you just quit enough to get the summer holiday you want?' And I said 'Can I do that?' and they said 'Yeah, why don't you choose one that you don't want to do?' "On the new schedule I'd like to stay for a while. I want to go before I'm pushed. I don't want some poor executive to be told to tell me." Rumours about her future on the show have circulated before, and Prue has previously addressed them. Earlier this year, there were reports that Prue's friend, Caroline Waldegrave OBE, would replace her on a celebrity version of Bake Off, the Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer. In an interview with the Independent, Prue shared her feelings about the show. She said: "I absolutely love working on Bake Off and am looking forward to filming the next series and meeting our new bakers. "I am only stepping back from the Celebrity series, which is just a question of the filming commitment involved as we make these shows back to back."
