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Even the Showrunner Concedes that Season 13 of 'The Great British Bake Off' Was Bad

By Dustin Rowles | TV | February 17, 2023 |

By Dustin Rowles | TV | February 17, 2023 |


gbbo-sucked.jpeg

I am new enough to The Great British Bake Off — I’ve only been watching regularly since the pandemic — that I didn’t particularly notice a steep drop off in quality in its 13th season. I have only known the Matt Lucas years, and Matt Lucas is the worst. I have seen clips of Mel and Sue and Mary Berry, and it’s easy to see why folks have been upset with the direction the series has taken since their departure.

To its credit, the 11th and 12th seasons were shot during the pandemic in a bubble under pandemic conditions, and they kept millions of people entertained during a very difficult time. But the 13th season? Mexican week? Even I could see that it had lost some of its magic.

Richard McKerrow, the series showrunner, doesn’t disagree. “I’d be the first to hold up our hands and say that I feel that the last series was not our strongest. You’ve got to take a look at it and go, ‘Shit, [are] the challenges too complicated?’ We’re looking very, very, very hard at making sure that it’s as good a series as it can be.”

That’s as close as you’re going to get to a showrunner saying, “That season sucked.” He did, however, attribute some of that to COVID fatigue, and they hope to turn things around when shooting begins on season 14 in April. “You have to take very, very, very good care of it. So when people are criticizing either the challenges have become too complicated or whatever, you know, that’s something we take seriously.”

He also said that they are close to finding a replacement for Matt Lucas, and an announcement should be coming in the next few weeks. Please let it be James Acaster.

Source: Deadline