The Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith was forced to hastily delete a tweet after she named the winner of this year’s show just hours before the final episode is scheduled to be broadcast.
Leith, who is currently in Bhutan, blamed a mix-up over time difference for the faux-pas.
She earlier told the Press Association she had been confused by the time difference between the Asian country and the UK, thinking the final had already aired.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“I’m in Bhutan,” she said. “The time difference is massive. I thought that they got it six hours ago. I’m in too much of a state to talk about it. I fucked up.”
"Bhutan is six hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time," says the BBC helpfully.
The Sun’s Dan Wootton retweeted the mistake to his 342,000 followers with the words “OMG PRUE! No baby no!” But “the gossip columnist was attacked by some who had seen his tweet,” reports The Guardian. “There was really no need was there. Why RT and spoil it for everyone?” wrote one fan of the show.
In her now-deleted tweet, Leith said she “wanted [all three finalists] to win” before saying “bravo” to one of them.
Leith replaced veteran chef Mary Berry on the show after the latter opted to remain with the BBC when the show moved over to Channel 4.
Some wags on Twitter even went so far as to suggest the deleted tweet was the work of the former judge.
The gaffe is bound to cause consternation at Channel 4, which is paying £25m a year for Great British Bake Off, with “executives likely to be concerned that the revelation could depress viewing figures for the finale of the first series on the channel,” says The Guardian.
-
Top cooking shows for foodiesThe Week Recommends From Bake Off to Chef's Table, these mouth-watering TV shows will inspire you in the kitchen
-
Sport on TV guide: Christmas 2022 and New Year listingsSpeed Read Enjoy a feast of sporting action with football, darts, rugby union, racing, NFL and NBA
-
The Great British Turn Off: have TV viewers had their fill?Talking Point Series 13 of the television baking contest has failed to impress critics
-
The Great British Bake Off’s most memorable moments
In the Spotlight Show returns to Channel 4 next week with 12 bakers ready to take on the challenge
-
House of the Dragon: what to expect from the Game of Thrones prequelSpeed Read Ten-part series, set 200 years before GoT, will show the incestuous decline of Targaryen
-
One in 20 young Americans identify as trans or non-binarySpeed Read New research suggests that 44% of US adults know someone who is transgender
-
The Turner Prize 2022: a ‘vintage’ shortlist?Speed Read All four artists look towards ‘growth, revival and reinvention’ in their work
-
What’s on TV this Christmas? The best holiday televisionSpeed Read From films and documentaries to musicals for all the family
