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Great British Bake Off leaves viewers divided over Barbie intro

Great British Bake Off is back for a new series and its return has left Channel 4 viewers divided as they opted for a unique Barbie-inspired intro for their first episode back on Tuesday. 

The programme opted for a trendy opening of the series as show hosts Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding dressed in Barbie theme. 

As the camera panned to the duo stood outside the famous white tent, the greenery  was set up to liken that of a typical Barbie set – complete with a fake swimming pool and a pink lip-shaped couch. 

For the intro, Alison was dressed in a blonde wig, a pink Marylin Monroe-inspired poodle dress and pink heels. 

Meanwhile Noel looked fabulous in a platinum blonde wig, a pink shirt which he paired with a matching mini skirt and white tights.

Great British Bake Off is back for a new series and its return has left Channel 4 viewers divided as they opted for a unique intro for their first episode back on Tuesday

Great British Bake Off is back for a new series and its return has left Channel 4 viewers divided as they opted for a unique intro for their first episode back on Tuesday

The programme opted for a trendy opening of the series as show hosts Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding dressed in Barbie theme

The programme opted for a trendy opening of the series as show hosts Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding dressed in Barbie theme

Joining in on the Barbie fun, food expert Paul Hollywood looked dashing in a black satin cowboy shirt, which featured a fringe around the chest. 

He paired the shirt with a pink bandana, black cowboy boots and white cowboy hat.

Prue Leith commanded attention as she wore a hot pink 80s-inpired dress, a crazed blonde wig, yellow printed tights and brown leather boots.

And while their opening was very creative, many viewers critised the choice and dubbed it ‘so last year’. 

One penned: ‘Bizarre Barbie intro. Not really my cup of tea’

‘What was that Barbie intro about?’

‘A Barbie intro in Oct 2024 was unexpected’

‘Well that intro was weird’ 

As the camera panned to the duo stood outside the famous white tent, the greenery was set up to liken that of a typical Barbie set - complete with a fake swimming pool and a pink lip-shaped couch

As the camera panned to the duo stood outside the famous white tent, the greenery was set up to liken that of a typical Barbie set – complete with a fake swimming pool and a pink lip-shaped couch

For the intro, Alison was dressed in a blonde wig, a pink Marylin Monroe-inspired poodle dress and pink heels

Meanwhile Noel looked fabulous in a platinum blonde wig, a pink shirt which he paired with a matching mini skirt and white tights

Meanwhile Noel looked fabulous in a platinum blonde wig, a pink shirt which he paired with a matching mini skirt and white tights

Joining in on the Barbie fun, food expert Paul Hollywood looked dashing in a black satin cowboy shirt, which featured a fringe around the chest

Joining in on the Barbie fun, food expert Paul Hollywood looked dashing in a black satin cowboy shirt, which featured a fringe around the chest

And while their opening was very creative, many viewers critised the choice and dubbed it 'so last year'

And while their opening was very creative, many viewers critised the choice and dubbed it ‘so last year’

But the imaginative intro was well received by some viewers as one confessed it made them 'giggle'

But the imaginative intro was well received by some viewers as one confessed it made them ‘giggle’

‘Watching #GBBO on +1 – that Barbie sketch was VERY cringe’

‘This Barbie cold open for #GBBO is so last year’

But the imaginative intro was well received by some viewers as one confessed it made them ‘giggle’.

One penned: ‘British Ken and Barbie lool. In Bakeoffland. Loving it.’

‘OMG ITS BARBIE THEMED!’

‘fab Barbie’

‘Bake of and Barbie. The combination i didnt know i needed’

‘BARBIE ALISON AND BARBIE NOEL’

One of the new Bake Off hopefuls is future dentistry student Sumayah, 19, this year’s youngest baker, who began by dedicating her first showstopper to a very special animal – her pet duck Pato.

During the first episode, Sumayah shows off her showstopper illusion cake and sheds light on its inspiration.

The student-to-be, who is taking to the tent amid her gap year, replicates her pet duck Pato as she bakes an orange and balsamic strawberry cake.

‘My cake is my pet duck,’ she tells presenter Noel . ‘We hatched him from an egg in like 2018. He goes missing sometimes, if he’s ever missing contact me!’

In a mock up of Sumayah’s ‘Pato the Duck’ illusion cake, Noel narrates: ‘Built from orange sponge, Sumayah’s feathered friend will contain layers of orange buttercream and balsamic strawberries.’

One of the new hopefuls on this year's Great British Bake Off is future dentistry student Sumayah, 19, who began by dedicating her first showstopper to her pet duck Pato

One of the new hopefuls on this year’s Great British Bake Off is future dentistry student Sumayah, 19, who began by dedicating her first showstopper to her pet duck Pato

Sumayah shows off her showstopper illusion cake and sheds light on its inspiration

Sumayah shows off her showstopper illusion cake and sheds light on its inspiration

‘You’ve got a pet duck, what’s he called?’ Noel asks the young baker, to which she replies: ‘Yeah Pato, it’s Spanish for duck.’

‘Is he Spanish,’ asks Noel, to which Sumayah replies: ‘I don’t think so.’

Noel continues: ‘Does he speak Spanish? Does he quack Spanish? What’s your favourite duck, is it the mallard?’

‘No my loves are really basic, I like runner ducks,’ Sumayah added.

‘Weird innit, you ever think about your life and think you’d be in a tent creating the body of a duck out of cake,’ Noel says.

The pair burst out laughing before Sumayah jokes: ‘I had nightmares.’

This year’s youngest contestant, Sumayah decided to fill her gap year with a sugary challenge before heading off to study dentistry next year.

Good at creating things from scratch, Sumayah is also a keen sewer and even makes her own clothes. 

The student admitted her audition for the show didn’t quite go to plan, yet she had a gut feeling she was destined for the tent.

‘Despite my disastrous audition, I had this inexplicable feeling that I would get into the tent,’ she explained.

In a mock up of Sumayah's 'Pato the Duck' illusion cake, Noel narrates: 'Built from orange sponge, Sumayah's feathered friend will contain layers of orange buttercream ad balsamic strawberries'

In a mock up of Sumayah’s ‘Pato the Duck’ illusion cake, Noel narrates: ‘Built from orange sponge, Sumayah’s feathered friend will contain layers of orange buttercream ad balsamic strawberries’

‘Not because I was confident in myself, but more a sense of impending fear. I still can’t believe I actually got in, it’s unbelievable!

‘I missed the phone call five times, so I was the last baker they notified.’

A fun new trailer for the hotly-anticipated next instalment launched on Channel 4 earlier this month ahead of the show’s return on Tuesday.

The Great British Bake Off kicks off on September 24 at 8pm on Channel 4.