The Great British Bakeoff 2020 TV Show Review: Love 👏🏼 This 👏🏼 Show 👏🏼
The Great British Bakeoff is a British baking competition where 12 amateur bakers gather in a white tent in the British countryside to complete challenges every week. I look forward to it every year and it never disappoints. Ok that’s a lie, sometimes my favorite contestant doesn’t win and it’s a bit disappointing, BUT the journey is always delightful!! GBBO is famous for being extremely wholesome because it’s a competition show without the drama and the “fistfights” that we sometimes see in other reality TV shows. The contestants are all very pleasant, crack jokes with each other, and offer to help each other out. It’s so easy to put this show on and transport yourself into a place surrounded by baked goods and good company, and enjoy a relaxing watching experience. I don’t think it’s possible for me to talk about this season without giving away spoilers, so SPOILER ALERT for the rest of the content in this review.
In this season, we have Paul and Prue as the judges and Noel and Matt as the hosts. This is actually the first season Matt is hosting! It’s always a bit strange to see anyone new in the judging/hosting positions, because GBBO is such a consistent show and people grow attached to the old guard. However, I quickly realized that Matt is all smiles and a big bundle of joy. He sometimes plays the role of an ignorant and child-like comedian, but for the most part, his dynamic with Noel is really sweet and you can tell they work well together. I feel like some of their jokes are hit or miss, but when it comes to stressed bakers, Noel and Matt are sweethearts and great at providing words of encouragement when needed. I especially thought that in the final episode, Noel’s stunt with the spoon and asking the contestants to kiss the spoon was hilarious.
As for the contestants, my favorites were definitely Peter (the “baby-faced assassin”), Hermine, Lottie, and Sura. I was ABSOLUTELY THRILLED when Peter was named the winner, because he did so well the entire season, and I was going to be really disappointed if he didn’t come out on top. I felt like in the finale, I was extremely nervous for him because the editing seemed to really play up his little mishaps in the creation of his dessert tower, and I was so nervous that he wasn’t going to finish in time. I felt like I was actually stressed and my heart rate was going up because I wanted him to do well so badly. I cried when Hermine, Lottie, and Sura were eliminated in their respective weeks. Hermine’s elimination was especially rough, because she could’ve done so well in patisserie week, but just had a big miscalculation in her showstopper. Lottie and Sura have amazing personalities and were stand-outs in terms of comedic quips, so I was really sad when they left as well! I do feel like the eliminations this year were pretty fair, with maybe one or two where I felt like the outcome should have been different (but not in the finale HEHEH).
In conclusion…
I am extremely pleased with this year’s GBBO season, because my favorite contestant out of the three finalists won and it doesn’t get better than that. This year, GBBO had to operate in a COVID world, so they had all of the people involved in the show in a COVID bubble. I don’t think this affected the production and entertainment value of the show, and I really commend the show’s efforts to keep everyone safe while continuing to provide watchers their yearly source of baking joy. This show is my favorite recurring show that airs, and maybe the only competition show I am 100% on board with. Highly recommend!