It’s always sad to see anyone leave The Great British Baking Show, but there’s something extra tragic about bidding farewell to the first eliminated baker. Not only have we hardly gotten the chance to get to know them, but you also always wonder if they were just struck by first week nerves. While watching the first episode of The Great British Baking Show Season 13 on Netflix, a third concern crept in for me…

Did host Noel Fielding accidentally jinx the first eliminated baker of 2025?

**Spoilers for The Great British Baking Show Season 13 Episode 1 “Cake Week,” now streaming on Netflix**

Early on in The Great British Baking Show Season 13 Episode 1 “Cake Week,” Noel Fielding asks new baker Hassan, a 30-year-old analytical research & development scientist from South Yorkshire, how long he thinks he can last in the tent. Noel cheekily asks if Hassan believes he can survive the first day? Hassan, full of good humor, self-deprecatingly predicts he can last until “tomorrow.” The joke being he can’t be eliminated today because it’s the first day. Tomorrow is Showstopper Day, aka the day judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith make their first cut.

It’s a cute little moment of banter that takes on a larger meaning because Hassan does get eliminated the next day. He literally called it. He only made it through “tomorrow.”

The production team behind The Great British Baking Show not only kept Hassan’s ominous prediction in the final edit, but they added it in the preview for the whole episode, underscoring it more.

So did Noel jinx Hassan with his playful joke? Was Hassan the right pick to go home in Week 1? Let’s break it down.

The very first Signature Challenge on The Great British Baking Show Season 13 was a classic with a twist. The bakers were asked to make a Swiss Roll with a decorative inlay design. Meaning, in addition to having to perfect a thin sponge that would roll up into a perfect swirl, the sponge had to be decorated with a design. Irish baker Iain meticulously recreated the architecture of his alma mater and chic Londoner Tom reproduced the neat lines of his family tartan. Hassan served this:

As our sweet boy himself admitted, he “proper mucked it.” So Hassan finished near or at the exact bottom of the Signature Challenge heap.

Next came one of the more twisted Technical Challenges we’ve ever seen. Paul Hollywood asked the bakers to make nine identical fondant fancies. Already sounds like hell, right? Well, it gets worse. Instead of leaving the bakers with the standard heavily redacted recipe, Paul gave everyone one fondant fancy to try and a collection of ingredients that may (or may not!) be in his recipe. As you might predict, the bakers struggled. So much so, Paul scoffed at their applause for the challenge winner, yelling, “Don’t clap!”

Hassan came in 10th place out of 12 bakers. Once again, it was not going great for our potentially jinxed baker.

Of course, one bad day in the tent is not enough to doom a baker on The Great British Baking Show. There’s always the chance they can turn it around with a fabulous Showstopper.

For the first Showstopper Challenge of The Great British Baking Show‘s 2025 season, Paul and Prue wanted the bakers to make a “landscape cake.” You know, like a cake that looks like a panoramic vista. The season’s first Star Baker, Nataliia, carefully recreated both the geography and natural topography of her native, war-torn Ukraine. A cute heart was placed where Kyiv would be. The cake was beautiful and delicious.

Hassan’s bamboo garden-themed pumpkin-spiced pumpkin cake, on the other hand, was compared to a “bad” dream by Paul Hollywood.

While other bakers, notably Toby and Leighton, also struggled with their bakes, Hassan had the bad luck of three lackluster performances in a row. Like, maybe Paul didn’t want the bakers to clap for Toby’s first place finish in the Technical, but the fact remains that Toby did come in first.

So, yes, Hassan’s elimination makes sense on paper. The very likable “yoga enthusiast” whiffed all three challenged on “Cake Week,” marking him for an early exit.

Still, I can’t help but wonder if Noel’s gentle joke played a part. It might have been intended as light chit-chat, but the very fact that Hassan’s prediction came true feels meaningful. Maybe it reflected the baker’s own insecurities, setting up a self-fulfilling prophecy. Or maybe it’s all just a coincidence.

Either way, I hope the next time Noel asks a baker how long they think they’ll stay in the tent, they improve their chances by saying they’re in it to win it.