The Great British Bake Off, or “GBBO” for true fans, is nothing short of a cultural phenomenon in the UK.
Since its first season in 2010, it has spawned a renaissance of cake-making, inspired tens of thousands of British women to learn the art of baking at nearly extinct Women’s Institutes, and sent cake stand sales through the roof. Seven years later, it continues to be a ratings machine, bringing in an weekly audience of almost seven million.
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Not bad for a show that puts one of the more mundane home cooking skills front and center. But for all of that wholesome goodness, GBBO does not hesitate to use pretty risqué innuendos to grow what appears to be an audience that is already very receptive to dad (and mum) jokes.
Just look at this pun-laced “Doughrotica” post from the shows Twitter account promoting GBBO’s most recent season, complete with slow motion and a 70s porno-esque soundtrack. Having just moved from BBC to Channel 4 in a whopping £75 million deal, it’s hardly surprising that the show is appealing to one of our most base appetites (aside from eating) in order to attract viewers.
What appears less calculated is the recent appearance of a loaf of bread that was supposed to resemble a snail quaintly resting under a mushroom, baked by contestant Julia Chernogorova. The only problem is that it looks less like a snail and more like, uh, an engorged phallus.
The uncanny resemblance to an unsavory body part was not lost on Chernogorova, who confessed, “That just looks inappropriate.”
Nor was it lost on the show’s legions of viewers.
Not surprisingly, GBBO quickly pounced on the snail as promotional tool on social media.
Despite the snail’s penile appearance, Chernogorova managed to stay in the baking competition, where she will continue to duke it out with other home bakers and be subjected to dick jokes from hosts.
Perhaps not surprisingly, this is not the first time that a penis has surreptitiously found its way onto the television screens of GBBO’s millions of viewers. Back during season two, the presence of a male squirrel’s “nuts” was sufficient to garner headlines such as “Warning, may contain nuts! Great British Bake Off viewers shocked by ‘explicit’ image of male squirrel” from British tabloids.
Who said baking was boring?
