A whole new season of The Great British Baking Show premiered on Netflix this weekend and gave long-time fans unique cause for celebration. The Great British Baking Show introduced new co-host Alison Hammond and the results were spectacular. The popular UK presenter not only aced her first time callouts, voice over narrative, and “On your marks, get set, bake!”, but her infectious joy rubbed off on everyone in the tent — including Noel Fielding, Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith. It could just be that Alison Hammond was the missing ingredient in the tent all these years.
The Great British Baking Show first became an international phenomenon when the sweet and slow-paced reality show began streaming overseas. Fans were enchanted by show’s genteel nature and hyper nerdy content. Instead of focusing on backstabbing, The Great British Baking Show fostered an environment of love. This was in part thanks to the show’s low-stakes concept, but more a by-product of original hosts Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc. The two comics were long-time IRL friends who always prioritized taking care of the bakers’ emotions over mugging for the camera.
Now this isn’t to say that Mel and Sue’s eventual replacements — Noel, Sandi, and Matt — were actively out to make things harder for the bakers, though it sometimes felt so. While Sandi continued Mel and Sue’s tradition of putting the contestants’ first, Noel spent his early days taking on the role of the tent’s naughty brother. When Matt Lucas replaced Sandi, the two comedians seemed to get off on disrupting the energy of the tent, creating confusing time calls and even occasionally making bits of blocking the bakers’ ways. In recent seasons, Noel Fielding matured into the role of Bake Off host in huge ways. Nevertheless, it still felt like something was missing in the tent. Now it seems that missing piece was Alison Hammond.
Alison Hammond is a British actress and TV presenter who appeared in the third season of the UK’s Big Brother back in the early ’00s. Her bubbly personality soon made her a fan favorite and by the end of the year, she was snapping up bit parts on UK dramas and working as a presenter on ITV’s Good Morning Britain (a gig she maintains to this day). In recent years, she’s managed to charm British audiences by doing everything from pushing a weather boy into water to getting Harrison Ford to laugh. She is the stuff that manic YouTube compilation videos are made of.
When Decider heard that Matt Lucas was leaving The Great British Baking Show last winter, it was a no-brainer for us to put Alison Hammond at the top of list of dream replacements. She already had a history with the show, once impressing Prue Leith with her brownie recipe in a Celeb Bake Off special. More importantly, Hammond is the rare television personality that radiates joy no matter what is going wrong on screen. She’s funny without being cruel, and glamorous while still being relatable. We had a hunch she would bring the exuberance the tent was missing. And we were right.
Throughout her first outing as Great British Baking Show co-host, Alison Hammond showed off a unique blend of poise and positivity that improved every corner of the show. Her nervous excitement — as a fan! — to declare, “Get ready, set, bake!” inspired her and Noel to hold hands and do it together. It was adorable. When Noel told her it was time for the time call, she didn’t break out a bit, but treated the moment almost reverently. To see a host who actually is excited to be in the Bake Off tent feels almost revelatory after years of co-hosts who seemed literally bored to be there.
Most importantly, Hammond’s effervescent brand of kindness seems to be rubbing off on everyone else. After all, for the first time in The Great British Baking Show history, Paul Hollywood gave a nervous baker a hug. A HUG! It’s inconceivable that Paul would ever have done that in the days when comics ruled the tent, no?
There are nine episodes to go in this new 2023 season of The Great British Baking Show. There is still time for scandals and kerfuffles. But for now, we have every reason to feel cautiously optimistic that The Great British Baking Show has course corrected after 2022’s disastrous season. And that’s mostly because we’re already in love with Alison Hammond.