TV presenter Gloria Hunniford has confessed that she has “never baked”, despite being set to compete in the upcoming Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer.
The 84-year-old, best known for her work on Rip Off Britain, The One Show, and This Morning, will join a host of famous faces, including Kate Garraway, YouTuber Amelia Dimoldenberg, and The One Show’s Roman Kemp, in the charity edition of the Channel 4 baking competition.
Although Hunniford has authored her own cookbook, she admits that baking has never been her forte.
‘I’ve never Baked in my life’
Ahead of her appearance on the show, Hunniford shared her lack of experience in baking, despite being a confident cook.
“I’ve never baked,” she said. “I do cook, but I’ve never baked in my life.
“When I was approached for this, I made it clear that I don’t bake. I had a couple of practice runs at home, and I really quite enjoyed it. I think I’m not doing too badly for a novice.”
Hunniford also revealed that growing up, she never needed to bake, as her mother always took care of the cooking.
“I never had to do it at home, I was spoiled as a child and a teenager with all my mum’s cooking.
“When I got married for the first time – I’ve only had two husbands – I was only 21, and I asked my mum to teach me how to make a wheaten bread. She said, ‘I can’t, because it’s a handful of this and a handful of that, so I can’t really tell you,’ so I was never taught how to bake.”
Lady Caroline waldegrave joins as judge
For this special edition, Lady Caroline Waldegrave, a renowned cookery book author, will replace Dame Prue Leith as a judge.
Hunniford admitted that she will miss Dame Prue, saying:
“I’ve interviewed and worked with Prue Leith quite a bit. I’m fascinated by the fact that, in America, she is treated like a pop star because Bake Off is so popular over there.”
Kate Garraway also struggles with baking
Hunniford is not the only contestant with limited baking experience. Fellow competitor Kate Garraway admitted that she has “never really” baked but does love cooking.
“My mum says I am a great instinctive cook and always seem to know how to combine ingredients to make something delicious—I rarely if ever use a recipe,” Garraway explained.
“But that’s different, isn’t it? Because you can taste it as you go—popping a pinch of something in here and a splash of something else in there.”
She described baking as an entirely different challenge, likening it to alchemy.
“Baking is a different ball game entirely. It’s like magic. You take egg, flour, and butter—ingredients that taste and look one way on their own—and they create something completely different.
“If you roast a chicken, it looks like a roasted chicken—it’s not that different to when it went in the oven.
“Baking is alchemy. So, I don’t think I’ve come out proving myself a Merlin, but I’m hoping not to be the Wicked Witch of the West.”
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A familiar but terrifying experience
Garraway also shared how surreal it felt to be inside the famous Bake Off tent.
“It’s so lovely because you walk in, and on one level, you just feel so at home—it’s so pretty and familiar, and everything you have seen on the TV is there.
“And then your next thought is, ‘Oh my God, I’m not just here to visit, I’ve actually got to bake in here and be judged by that famous panel.’
“So, your second emotion is just one of terror, really. None of us feel like we deserve to be here. I definitely don’t deserve to be here. But I’m just loving making the most of the experience.”
Garraway, who has presented GMTV, Daybreak, and Good Morning Britain, has had a difficult few years, losing her husband Derek Draper in January last year following complications from Covid-19.
She found comfort in seeing her friend Alison Hammond in the tent, saying it helped them “laugh at my ridiculousness together.”
When to watch
The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer returns to Channel 4 on Sunday at 7.40 pm, with episodes available on Channel4.com for catch-up.
