Great British Bake Off

Yes, I thought 'Extra Slice' was great this week too. It seems to be better this year. Some of the public's bakes are amazing too. What about that handbag. Do you think it would taste as good as it looks?

I said to my husband that once it was on my plate it would be just like Eton Mess - so yes, I do!

Don't you think that the meringue thing they had to spend so much time constructing just degenerated into an 'Eton mess' once the judges cut into it?

That act is wearing a bit thin, so I liked it when the other bakers were taking the mickey out of him

I thought the German guy Henning Wehn was very funny, much funnier than when he's on Have I Got News For You?

Jo has settled in nicely to her role as presenter too.

If whatever-his-name-is gets star baker again next week and does his wide eyed "how has this happened to little me?" thing, I will vomit all over the tele!

Yes. As soon as I spotted Lisa Tarbuck was one of the guests I reckoned the show would be good.

I'm sorry Sandy has gone but it was a bad week for her.

I loved Sandy's physical depiction of a crème brûlée wobble. Spot on!

I'm still watching too and will miss Sandy. She was very funny on Extra Slice last night (whole show was good this week).

MargaretX it looked like the bakers were having trouble in the next show - can't wait!

I'm still watching, Juliette. Two of my favourites are off already, Marie and Sandy. The men seem to be shaping up to be the stars this year.

The talent that some people have, amazing. I watch this programme thinking I would like to try that but would never have the results they get on the programme. One comment though, I have to look away when Mary Berry samples the finished product. ��

I'm afraid that you cannot take the credit for that MargaretX, it was all filmed months ago.

Does Paul read GN? After my post he decides to bake glutenfree bread and scones.

I'm looking forward to the gluten free breads. Hopefully some hints on how to get rid of the dry, chalky texture.

Gluten free bread next week, should be interesting. Dairy free ice cream and sugarless cakes, think that's right.
Has everyone given up watching this year?

I agree MargaretX and I think it would bring in even more viewers if the show did something to raise the profile of special dietary requirements.

Paul as a Master Baker will use a basic understanding of chemistry, so he should be able to work out how to substitute ingredients.

As a master baker he must be able to bake such breads. It would be helpful to so many people to make biscuits without eggs and glutenfree scones.
So many would really benefit from it. it would be worth watching then!

nanaval I think that's a great idea, although I can imagine Paul looking down his nose at it!

Watch Extra Slice last night and Marie was lovely (looked lovely too). She was quite emotional and clearly meant it when she said the experience was a dream come true because Mary is one of her heros. Good show all round.

Nanaval - Lots of gluten free four and baking ingredients available at supermarkets, and loads of recipes on-line

I love GBBO and used to love baking but after being diagnosed with coeliacs baking became a no no for me. Perhaps one week GBBO could do a session without using flour.

I thought Extra Slice was on Friday, but perhaps that's just me. It's The Apprentice that has the person kicked off on the show with Dara O'Briain straight afterwards.
Anyway, I love Extra Slice just as much as I love GBBO. So many top quality bakers this year, plus endearing characters you root for...

yogagran Thank you so much for your recipe, I will try it out. I even did very well today, went to garden centre today and blinkered my way past all the cakes and hot food and ordered a salad! Gold star to me, . Thanks again.

Wasn't Jo Brand's extra slice on last year straight after the show itself? Or is it me? It looses a bit of the momentum being on two days later.

Could be. She might have been rattled by Paul after she spoke to him about her biscotti. He certainly didn't give her the reassurance she was after - quite the opposite.

Might try and catch the Jo Brand show this week to see what Marie says about her time on the show. Editing makes a world of difference.

She just fell apart in last night's episode. Perhaps having been the star baker the first week made her feel the weight of expectations.

I was surprised by Marie's performance last night because she was touted as the bookies' favourite and partly the reason why they stopped taking bets. Bit of a shocker then to see her on her way.

I kept thinking she was going to produce something wonderful - but she didn't. It would have been so unfair if anyone else went home. I think she's a great baker, but the precision and attention to detail needed to succeed on the show isn't something she normally bothers about, probably because it's not necessary in her home environment.

I like this crowd and think the standard is already pretty good, making it hard to spot the winner. Flora gets on my nerves a bit, but I felt for her when her box broke last night. Lots of things going wrong all over the place though!

Wilma is so right....GBBO is really much more about the people, how they cope with the challenges (both cooking and dealing with the pressures of the tent and judges). Occasionally the editing does seem a little heavy handed but on the whole one gets the feeling that the mutual support and good natured competitive nature of the programme is genuine and really rather lovely to watch.