Great British Bake Off’s Rowan says contestants have 5am start and no hot water in practice kitchens

Great British Bake Off contestant Rowan Williams has shared some of the behind-the-scenes details on the current series.

The music teacher, 55, became the third contestant to be eliminated in October after failing to impress with his ‘soft and wrinkly’ bagels.

Talking about what goes on behind-the-scenes, Rowan revealed that bakers have a 5am start, no hot water in the practice kitchens and evening quizzes in their bubble.

The current series took place at Down Hall Hotel in Essex over the summer after five years of filming at Welford Park in Berkshire, with all cast and crew members undergoing regular COVID-19 testing in an isolation bubble amid the pandemic.    

Before entering the ‘biosphere’, the contestants had to quarantine for nine days with the 130 people involved with the show tested three times before filming.

Rowan told Metro that bakers weren’t allowed to bring their partners but they were allowed to bring their children with contestants Hermine and Mark spending time with their kids in between filming, who have sweetly featured on the show. 

Talking about what would happen after filming and in the bubble, the former contestant told the publication: ‘We would have a drink in the bar after filming. They laid on entertainment too. We had a zoom quiz with [Extra Slice host] Tom Allen.’ 

Rowan also revealed that the practice kitchens were ‘quite basic’ and often didn’t have hot water with limited time for practising. He added that bakers were also expected to do their own cleaning up. 

He said: ‘They set up practice kitchens in other tents for us. It was a bit like a Nightingale hospital. They did their very best, but the facilities were quite basic and sometimes didn’t have hot water.’

Elsewhere, Rowan claimed that the day would start at 5am, he said: ‘We had our temperatures taken at five o’clock and then we were on set by six o’clock. It’s exhausting, I tell you. In my final episode you can see me nodding off.’

He said that once entering the tent, bakers would film to the cameras and do social media shooting before getting their ingredients ready for that day’s bake, which would typically start at 8am. 

He added each episode takes two days to film and the day would finish around 6 or 7pm. 

Producers said they drew up a list of safety rules ‘longer than the Bible’ before filming started for the new socially-distanced series with Paul’s signature handshake given the green light despite fears of spreading the virus.

Rowan become the third contestant to be eliminated from The Great British Bake Off in October. 

The music teacher bid farewell to the tent after failing to impress with his ‘soft and wrinkly’ rainbow bagels, ‘sand-like’ soda breads and a ‘bland’ showstopper.

Rowan was ever-gracious as he said goodbye to the remaining bakers, adding: ‘I feel very content really I’ve had a wonderful time, it’s exhausting but very rewarding.’ 

The Great British Bake Off continues on Tuesdays at 8pm on Channel 4.