Bake Off ‘tension’ sparks debate as fans defend star after ‘awkward’ moment

Fans of The Great British Bake Off have enjoyed watching the drama unfold so far this series, whether it's the incredible bakes or some of those inevitable mishaps behind them.

Even in episode two alone, we had a shock exit from Jeff, Illiyan fainting before presenting her Showstopper, and Dylan falling to the floor from his stool.

Last week, some fans thought they’d spotted a moment of Pastry Week ‘tension’ between Sumayah and presenter Noel Fielding, who regularly moves around the tent to speak to the contestants as they whip up their creations.

Noel and Sumayah speaking during an earlier episode (Channel 4)

Sumayah, 19, was working on her ‘Tree of Life’ Paris-Brest Showstopper when Noel came over to speak to her.

“I’ve got a bone to pick with you!” Noel began.

“Alison basically said to me that you said to her she was your favourite.”

With a grin, Sumayah replied: “Yeah, I did!”

As Noel mimicked sticking a dagger in his chest, she added: “I thought it was obvious.”

As he told her that Dylan was his ‘favourite’, he went on: “But we have to learn to

get on with each other.”

Sumyah's Showstopper (Channel 4)

Later in the segment, Noel returned to Sumayah’s bench as she was putting the finishing touches to her bake – with Alison shouting to the bakers that they had one minute remaining.

“How are you?” he asked her.

“This is not a good time to be speaking,” she replied, saying as she walked towards her Paris-Brest and edible stand: “Please move.”

After the episode aired, one viewer took to Reddit to say Sumayah’s behaviour ‘annoyed’ them – although their remark prompted a huge amount of debate, as it soon became clear not everyone agreed.

“Same, after this latest episode,” one commented.

“The hosts talk with all the bakers during high stress moments — it’s their JOB. Yet, the vast majority of contestants manage it with grace. It’s likely why they are chosen, after all. It’s the nature of the show. Her outright disdain for him really came through this week and it put me off.”

Another wrote: “My SO and I had a conversation about their interaction. I couldn’t tell if she was scared of him or if she genuinely didn’t like him. I got it definite vibe of being uncomfortable around him.”

Many people have defended Sumayah (Channel 4)

A fourth added: “Oh big time. It was sort of awkward when she told him to go away. But if they’re in the bakers' faces all the time, I’d do the same.”

However, many came to Sumayah’s defence, arguing that she handled the situation politely and calmly, given that she would have been under a huge amount of pressure at the time.

Others also noted that her ‘deadpan’ response may have just been a continuation of the joke she’d shared with Noel earlier in the episode.

One said: “Lol Sumayah is wicked sassy (in a charming way) and obv Noel is too. I read about their ‘tension’ before watching the episode, and then I saw it and it struck me as very amicable, they were having fun sassing each other.”

Someone else agreed: “Yeah I think she’s very deadpan. I did not catch any actual annoyance or tension.”

A third said: “They’re just messing about, I wouldn’t read into it too much. That’s what Noel is like!”

A fourth also felt Sumayah was just ‘stating her boundary so she could focus on her work’, while another theorised that ‘they’re both in on the bit and lean into it’.

Over in another Reddit thread, one other pointed out that ‘we don’t see everything that happens’, adding: “Sumayah is awesome, she’s not rude: she’s direct. I’m sure there are many times when contestants ask the presenters to go away when they’ve walked over for a chat during a crunch moment.”

Tyla has reached out to Channel 4 for comment.